Hydrophobin-enhanced stability, dispersions and release of curcumin nanoparticles in water

Abstract

Most chemotherapeutic drugs commonly suffer from low aqueous solubility that can potentially limit drugs absorption. Drug nanomerization is an advanced approach to overcoming their poor water-solubility. In this study, class I hydrophobin recombinant HGFI (rHGFI)-based curcumin (Cur) nanoparticles (rHGFI-Cur) were prepared by freeze-drying method. The rHGFI-Cur nanocomposites were characterized by contact angle, transmission electron microscopy, fluorescence microscopy and dynamic light scattering. The results showed that rHGFI could lead to the wettability conversion and stability improved of Cur in water. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared suggested that rHGFI could non-covalently bind to Cur to render them hydrophilic through hydrophobic forces. Additionally, drug release and cytotoxicity assays illustrated that rHGFI-Cur nanoparticles could facilitate Cur release and exhibited higher cytotoxicity than free Cur for human esophageal cancer cells TE-1. Thus, it suggested that rHGFI has a great potential application for hydrophobic drug delivery without toxicity.

Keywords:

• Hydrophobin
• self-assembly
• amphipathic
• curcumin

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This research was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (152020201-C), the Natural Science Foundation of Shanxi Province (2014021020-3, 2015021080), Scientific and Technological Innovation Programs of Higher Education Institutions in Shanxi (2015130) and Research Project Supported by Shanxi Scholarship Council of China (2015-033).