Preparation, characterization and in vitro cytotoxicity assay of curcumin loaded solid lipid nanoparticle in IMR32 neuroblastoma cell line

Curcumin (diferuloylmethane) possesses low bioavailability due to its poor solubility, permeability and rapid metabolism. Solid Lipid Nanoparticle of curcumin was prepared by high-speed homogenization technique. Stearic acid was used as a lipid, tween 80 as surfactant and various co surfactants were used for the preparation of SLN. The prepared SLN was characterized using zeta sizer, TEM analysis and the average particle size was found to be in the range of 80 nm – 200nm. The entrapment efficiency of the SLN was ~58 to 85%. The characteristic FTIR peaks suggest that the stearic acid is compatible with curcumin. MTT assay was performed on the optimized formulation and the results are indicative that curcumin SLN showed better cytotoxicity in low dose while compared to plain curcumin. The developed Cu-SLN can find its better place in the anticancer therapy.