Chitosan/Histidine nanoparticles for controlled curcumin delivery: A potential strategy in anticancer treatment

Cancer, a life-threatening disease influenced by environmental factors, evolving lifestyles, and dietary choices, necessitates potent and sustained therapeutic interventions. This research explores the potential of chitosan/histidine nanoparticles (CS/HIS-NPs) as a controlled delivery system for curcumin (CUR), a promising anticancer agent. CUR was efficiently incorporated into CS/HIS-NPs via ionic gelation using sodium tripolyphosphate (TPP) as crosslinker, and its impact was evaluated on Human liver adenocarcinoma (HEP G2) cells. Comprehensive analyses, including structural (Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD)) and morphological (Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM)) assessments, were conducted, revealing a robust encapsulation efficiency of 98.4 %. The nanoparticles exhibited an average size of 31.183 ± 13.822 nm for CS/HIS-NPs and 127.86 ± 44.344 nm for CUR-CS/HIS-NPs. Cytotoxicity assessments and in vitro release studies with CUR-CS/HIS-NPs demonstrated promising results, indicating the potential efficacy of the delivery system. This study introduces a novel approach to curcumin delivery and underscores the capability of CS/HIS-NPs as a sophisticated pharmaceutical carrier for sustained curcumin release. By utilizing a polymer matrix to govern release kinetics, chitosan/histidine nanoparticles emerge as a promising avenue for advancing anticancer drug delivery.