Healing potential of curcumin nanomicelles in cutaneous burn wounds: an in vitro and in vivo study

ABSTRACT

Purpose/Aim of the study

Curcumin is the active substance of turmeric and has been shown to enhance the healing potential of burn wounds. However, its high hydrophobicity and rapid degradability are great challenges for its clinical applications. The development of new curcumin formulations may provide a potential solution to these issues.

Methods and Results

In this study, we investigated the use of curcumin nanomicelles for wound dressing and evaluated their effects on fibroblast migration and proliferation in vitro. We found that the application of curcumin nanomicelles to the wounds significantly improved wound contraction and increased the expression of transforming growth factor-1 and basic fibroblast growth factor at day 14 of the healing process. Furthermore, curcumin nanomicelles reduced the expression of interleukin-1 at days 7 and 14 post-wounding. Histopathological analysis revealed that the curcumin nanomicelles-treated burn wounds exhibited more organized granulation tissue, improved angiogenesis, and enhanced re-epithelialization. Additionally, the curcumin treatment led to increased hydroxyproline content and enhanced TGF-β1 expression level in the wounds. The in vitro studies also demonstrated that the curcumin nanomicelles induced proliferation and migration of fibroblasts.

Conclusion

Overall, our findings suggest that curcumin nanomicelles can be a promising candidate for the treatment of burn wounds.

KEYWORDS:

• Curcumin nanomicelles
• burn wound
• scratch assay
• apoptosis
• fibroblasts

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.