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Curcumin-Loaded PLGA-PEG-PLGA Triblock Copolymeric Micelles

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Curcumin-Loaded PLGA-PEG-PLGA Triblock Copolymeric Micelles Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 354 (2011) 116–123 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Colloid and Interface Science www.elsevier.com/locate/jcis Curcumin-loaded PLGA-PEG-PLGA triblock copolymeric micelles: Preparation, pharmacokinetics and distribution in vivo ⇑ Zhimei Song a,b,1, Runliang Feng b,1, Min Sun a, Chenyu Guo a, Yan Gao a, Lingbing Li a, Guangxi Zhai a, a Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, Shandong University, 44 Wenhua Xilu, Jinan 250012, China b Department of Pharmaceutical Engineering, College of Medicine and Life Science, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, China article info abstract Article history: The aim of this study was to assess the potential of new copolymeric micelles to modify the pharmacoke- Received 4 August 2010 netics and tissue distribution of Curcumin (CUR), a hydrophobic drug. In the present study, a poly (D,L-lac- Accepted 11 October 2010 tide-co-glycolide)-b-poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA-PEG-PLGA) copolymer Available online 16 October 2010 was synthesized and characterized by 1H NMR, gel permeation chromatography and FTIR analysis. The CUR-loaded PLGA-PEG-PLGA micelles were prepared by dialysis method and the physicochemical param- Keywords: eters of the micelles such as zeta potential, size distribution and drug encapsulation were characterized. PLGA-PEG-PLGA micelle The pharmacokinetics and biodistribution of CUR-loaded micelles in vivo were evaluated. The results Curcumin showed that the zeta potential of CUR-loaded micelles was about 0.71 mV and the average size was Pharmacokinetics À Biodistribution 26.29 nm. CUR was encapsulated into PLGA-PEG-PLGA micelles with loading capacity of 6.4 ± 0.02% and entrapment efficiency of 70 ± 0.34%. The plasma AUC(0–1), t1/2a, t1/2b and MRT of CUR micelles were increased by 1.31, 2.48, 4.54 and 2.67 fold compared to the CUR solution, respectively. The biodistribution study in mice showed that the micelles decreased drug uptake by liver and spleen and enhanced drug distribution in lung and brain. These results suggested that PLGA-PEG-PLGA micelles would be a potential carrier for CUR. Ó 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction cause most of the biological environment is hydrophilic in nature and biocompatibility appears to be correlated directly with the de- Recently, medical applications of polymeric nanoparticles to gree of hydrophilicity that a surface exhibits [9]. The nonionic achieve site-special drug delivery have attracted growing interest. hydrophilic PEG shell can suppress the adsorption of opsonin and Especially, polymeric micelles are currently recognized as one of subsequent clearance by the mononuclear phagocyte system, pro- the most promising carriers of drug [1]. Amphiphilic copolymer long the circulation time, and influence the pharmacokinetics and in aqueous solution can self- assemble into micelles due to hydro- biodistribution of the drug delivery system [10,11], while the phobic interactions among the water-insoluble segments. Poly- hydrophobic core of D,L-lactide (D,L-LA) and glycolide (GA) can sol- meric micelles as nanocarriers have gained attention due to ubilize hydrophobic drugs. Hence, it has been studied widely as a several advantages, such as (i) the low toxicity; (ii) the high stabil- biomaterial for sustained release of drugs and antigens [12–18]. ity; and (iii) the small size (<200 nm), which has made them ideal But there is rare report about PLGA-PEG-PLGA nano-micelles as candidate for passive targeting of solid tumor by enhanced perme- carriers for drug delivery. Many early reports have proved that ation and retention (EPR) effect [2–5]. This approach has been used polymeric amphiphiles consisting of hydrophilic PEG and to deliver drugs such as paclitaxel [6], prednisone acetate [7] and hydrophobic low-molecular-weight natural components such as doxorubicin [8], etc. diacyllipid, fatty acid and bile salts can form self-aggregated Copolymer PLGA-PEG-PLGA is an excellent biomedical material micelles [19–22]. It is therefore conceivable that the triblock and displays many advantages, e.g. biocompatible, degradable, copolymer PLGA-PEG-PLGA formed by incorporation of a hydro- thermosensitive and easy controlled characters. Potential advan- philic segment such as PEG into the hydrophobic PLGA chain tage provided by the hydrophilic poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG) can would self-assemble into micelles and facilitate the drug release. improve the biocompatibility of the delivery vehicle. This is be- Curcumin (diferuloylmethane, CUR, Fig. 1) is a low-molecular- weight, natural polyphenolic compound that is isolated from the rhizome of turmeric (Curcuma longa). It is a lipophilic fluorescent ⇑ Corresponding author. Address: Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, Shandong University, 44 Wenhua Xilu, Jinan 250012, China. molecule with phenolic groups and conjugated double bonds. It E-mail address: [email protected] (G. Zhai). has a low intrinsic toxicity but a wide range of pharmacological 1 These authors Contributed equally to the work. activities including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, 0021-9797/$ - see front matter Ó 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2010.10.024 Z. Song et al. / Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 354 (2011) 116–123 117 The samples were prepared by spreading PLGA-PEG-PLGA on the potassium bromide tablet or compressing LA, GA and PEG into pel- lets with potassium bromide. 2.3.3. Gel permeation chromatography Fig. 1. Structure of curcumin (CUR). Copolymer molecular weights were determined on a Waters GPC system equipped with an isocratic pump (Waters 1525) oper- ated at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min with tetrahydrofuran (THF), an antiamyloid, and antitumor properties [23,24]. Preclinical studies autosampler (Waters 717 plus), a column oven and a dual k absor- of CUR have shown its ability to inhibit carcinogenesis in a variety bance detector (Waters 2487) with integrated temperature con- of cell lines that include breast, cervical, colon, gastric, hepatic, leu- troller maintained at 35 °C. For molecular mass separation a kemia, oral epithelial, ovarian, pancreatic, and prostate cancer [25]. guard column (PLgel 5 lm) and a Styragel HT3 column (10 lm, The ability of CUR to induce apoptosis in cancer cells without cyto- 300 Â 7.5 mm) were used in-line at 35 °C. Calibration was carried toxic effects on healthy cells makes it a potential compound for out using ND (narrow distributed)-polystyrene standards. The mo- drug development against cancer [25,26]. bile phase was THF (HPLC grade) stabilized with dieter butyl-2,6- The major problem with CUR is its extremely low solubility in methyl-4-phenol. Polymer sample was dissolved in THF, shortly À8 aqueous solution (2.99 Â 10 M) and its poor bioavailability, sonicated in an ultrasonic bath to form a homogenous solution. which limits its clinical efficacy [27,28]. Attempts have been made Chromatography was carried out after sample filtration through a through encapsulation in polymeric micelles, liposomes, polymeric 0.45 lm PTFE filter. nanoparticles, lipid-based nanoparticles, and hydrogels to increase its aqueous solubility and bioavailability [29–34]. In this study, the PLGA-PEG-PLGA conjugate was synthesized 2.4. Physicochemical characterization of copolymer micelles through an ester linkage ring-opening reaction with Stannous 2-eth- ylhexanoate as catalysis. The micelles of PLGA- PEG-PLGA were suc- 2.4.1. CMC of copolymer cessfully prepared at first. The physicochemical characteristics of Copolymer was precisely weighted and dissolved in redistilled CUR-loaded PLGA-PEG-PLGA micelles such as morphology, particle water at 5–8 °C and stored at 4 °C for 24 h. By dilution with size, zeta potential and loading efficiency were investigated. And redistilled water, a series of aqueous solutions with different con- the pharmacokinetics and biodistribution of CUR-loaded micelles centration of copolymer were obtained as follow: 1 Â 10À3, in mice were evaluated with CUR solution (CUR-solution) as control. 5 Â 10À4,1Â 10À4,5Â 10À5,1Â 10À5,5Â 10À6,1Â 10À6, 5 Â 10À7,1Â 10À7,5Â 10À8 g/mL. À4 2. Experimental section A 0.1 mL of 2 Â 10 mol/L solution of pyrene in acetone was aliquoted into a series of amber glass vials and acetone was evap- 2.1. Materials orated under a stream of nitrogen. The copolymer solutions in water ranging in concentrations were added into the vials to give À6 CUR was purchased from Fluka Chemical Company Inc. (Buchs, a final pyrene concentration of 2 Â 10 mol/L All the solutions Switzerland). Poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG) (Mw ¼ 1500) was pur- were equilibrated in water bath at 60 °C, stored overnight at room chased from Shanghai Pudong Gaonan Chemical Factory (Shanghai, temperature and filtered through 0.45 lm filter membrane prior to measurements. China). D,L-Lactide, and glycolide monomers for synthesis of PLGA–PEG–PLGA polymer were obtained from Jinan Daigang Bio- CMC of the copolymer was determined by fluorescence spec- technology Co., Ltd. (Jinan, China). Stannous 2-ethylhexanoate troscopy using pyrene as fluorescence probe. The fluorescence was procured from Sigma Chemicals (St. Louis, MO, USA). Pyrene spectrum was recorded on a fluorescence spectrophotometer (F- was obtained from Baotou Science and Technology Industry Trade 7000 FL, Hitachi Corp., Japan). The excitation spectrum was re- Co. Ltd. (Baotou, China). All the other chemicals and solvents were corded from 300 to 360 nm with an emission wavelength of of analytical grade or higher, obtained commercially. Dialysis 390 nm. Both excitation and emission bandwidths were 2.5 nm. À1 membrane was obtained from ViskaseÒ Companies, Inc. (USA). Scanning speed was 240 nm min . Fluorescent spectra of pyrene solutions contained a vibration band exhibiting high sensitivity to the polarity of the pyrene environment. As shown in the excita- 2.2. Synthesis of PLGA-PEG-PLGA triblock copolymer tion spectra of pyrene with formation of micelles, pyrene would move into the inside of micelles from the aqueous phase, which re- PLGA-PEG-PLGA was synthesized by ring-opening method de- sulted in an alteration in the intensity ratio (I /I ) of pyrene scribed by Ali et al.
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