Curcuma Longa: Nutraceutical Use and Association With Nanotechnology.

Curcumin is a natural product found in the rhizome of Curcuma longa (L.) and other Curcuma spp. As a lipophilic molecule, it has greater affinity for polar, non-polar, alkaline, or extremely acidic organic solvents. Several studies indicate that curcumin has several benefits for human health, for example, against degenerative diseases, cancer, and infectious diseases. To obtain a quality product with nutraceutical properties, it is necessary to know its physicochemical characteristics and preserve it from cultivation until ingestion by the human. However, its low solubility leads to low absorption; in this context, nanotechnological systems can contribute to increase curcumin bioavailability. This review aims to highlight important issues in all stages that curcumin goes through: from aspects related to its extraction to its association with nanotechnology. Although curcumin extraction process is already well established, it is possible to observe more and more research focused on increasing yield and being more environmentally friendly. Further, curcumin's low absorption is notable due to its physicochemical characteristics, mainly due to its low aqueous solubility. However, its association with nanotechnology shows to be promising and an increasingly growing trend because the use of this "Indian solid gold" is the hope of many patients.

Microfluidic preparation and optimization of sorafenib-loaded poly(ethylene glycol-block-caprolactone) nanoparticles for cancer therapy applications.

The use of amphiphilic block copolymers to generate colloidal delivery systems for hydrophobic drugs has been the subject of extensive research, with several formulations reaching the clinical development stages. However, to generate particles of uniform size and morphology, with high encapsulation efficiency, yield and batch-to-batch reproducibility remains a challenge, and various microfluidic technologies have been explored to tackle these issues. Herein, we report the development and optimization of poly(ethylene glycol)-block-(ε-caprolactone) (PEG-b-PCL) nanoparticles for intravenous delivery of a model drug, sorafenib. We developed and optimized a glass capillary microfluidic nanoprecipitation process and studied systematically the effects of formulation and process parameters, including different purification techniques, on product quality and batch-to-batch variation. The optimized formulation delivered particles with a spherical morphology, small particle size (dH < 80 nm), uniform size distribution (PDI < 0.2), and high drug loading degree (16 %) at 54 % encapsulation efficiency. Furthermore, the stability and in vitro drug release were evaluated, showing that sorafenib was released from the NPs in a sustained manner over several days. Overall, the study demonstrates a microfluidic approach to produce sorafenib-loaded PEG-b-PCL NPs and provides important insight into the effects of nanoprecipitation parameters and downstream processing on product quality.