The Preparation of Curcumin-Loaded Pickering Emulsion Using Gelatin-Chitosan Colloidal Particles as Emulsifier for Possible Application as a Bio-Inspired Cosmetic Formulation.

In the field of preparing cosmetic formulations, recent advances recommend the usage of excipients derived from biocompatible materials. In this context, the present study aimed to prepare and characterize the curcumin-loaded Pickering emulsion for possible applications in cosmetic formulation. The coconut oil which is often the component of skin care formulations is used as the oily phase. Curcumin, which is well known for absorbing solar radiation, is expected to work synergistically with coconut oil towards improving the sun protection factor (SPF) of the formulation. Additionally, curcumin can also protect the intracellular components through its well-known antioxidant mechanisms. The Pickering emulsion of coconut oil into water was prepared using the composite colloidal particles derived from ß-carboxymethyl chitosan (CMC) and Gelatin-A (GA) as the emulsifying agent. The reaction conditions in terms of the weight ratios of CMC and GA, the pH of the reaction medium, the oil volume fraction, and the homogenization speed were optimized to obtain the most stable Pickering emulsion. The obtained systems were physico-chemically characterized by dynamic light scattering, zeta potential, optical microscopy, and rheometric measurements. The final CMC-GA-stabilized emulsion demonstrated an oil droplet size of 100 µm and a SPFspectrophotometric (290-320 nm) value of 8.5 at a curcumin loading of 4 mg/mL. Additionally, the final formulation facilitated the uptake of curcumin into fibroblast (WI26) cells under in vitro conditions. Together, the investigation demonstrates a bio-inspired approach to prepare a curcumin-loaded green Pickering emulsion using biocompatible pharmaceutical grade excipients, which may find utility in cosmetic applications.

Gelatin-lecithin-F127 gel mediated self-assembly of curcumin vesicles for enhanced wound healing.

Curcumin, a principal component of Curcuma longa, has a long history of being used topically for wound healing. However, poor aqueous solubility of curcumin leads to poor topical absorption. Recently, gelatin based gel has been reported to overcome this issue. However, the release of curcumin from gelatin gel in the bioavailable or easily absorbable form is still a challenge. The present study reports the development of a composite gel prepared from gelatin, F127 and lecithin using temperature dependant gelation and loading of curcumin within it. Notably, the composite gel facilitated the release of curcumin entrapped within vesicles of ~400 nm size. Further, the composite gel exhibited increase in the storage modulus or gel strength, stability, pore size and hydrophobicity as compared to only gelatin gel. Finally, wound healing assay in murine model indicated that curcumin delivered through composite gel showed a significantly faster healing as compared to that delivered through organic solvent. This was also validated by histopathological and biochemical analysis showing better epithelization and collagen synthesis in the group dressed with curcumin containing composite gel. In conclusion, composite gel facilitated the release of bioavailable or easily absorbable curcumin which in turn enhanced the wound healing.

A Reusable Column Method Using Glycopolymer-Functionalized Resins for Capture-Detection of Proteins and Escherichia coli.

The use of glycopolymer-functionalized resins (Resin-Glc), as a solid support, in column mode for bacterial/protein capture and quantification is explored. The Resin-Glc is synthesized from commercially available chloromethylated polystyrene resin and glycopolymer, and is characterized by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetry, and elemental analysis. The percentage of glycopolymer functionalized on Resin-Glc is accounted to be 5 wt%. The ability of Resin-Glc to selectively capture lectin, Concanavalin A, over Peanut Agglutinin, reversibly, is demonstrated for six cycles of experiments. The bacterial sequestration study using SYBR (Synergy Brands, Inc.) Green I tagged Escherichia coli/Staphylococcus aureus reveals the ability of Resin-Glc to selectively capture E. coli over S. aureus. The quantification of captured cells in the column is carried out by enzymatic colorimetric assay using methylumbelliferyl glucuronide as the substrate. The E. coli capture studies reveal a consistent capture efficiency of 105  CFU (Colony Forming Units) g-1 over six cycles. Studies with spiked tap water samples show satisfactory results for E. coli cell densities ranging from 102 to 107  CFU mL-1 . The method portrayed can serve as a basis for the development of a reusable solid support in capture and detection of proteins and bacteria.

Glycopolymeric gel stabilized N-succinyl chitosan beads for controlled doxorubicin delivery.

Here we report the synthesis and study of N-succinyl chitosan based hydrogel beads, stabilized with glycopolymeric network (NSC/Glc-gel) for application in anticancer drug delivery of doxorubicin (DOX). The bio-recognition of lectins by NSC/Glc-gel bead was also studied by UV-vis spectrophotometry. The beads were characterized using FT-IR, SEM and Thermogravimetric analysis. The extent of DOX loading was proportional to the degree of succinylation and the swelling kinetics of the beads showed pH dependency. The beads exhibited sustained release of DOX over a period of more than 15 days in an acidic pH, mimicking the microenvironment of tumor cells, and even lesser release at physiological pH. Release exponent 'n' derived from Korsmeyer-Peppas model implied that NSC88/Glc-gel (88% succinylation of chitosan) beads followed fickian diffusion controlled release mechanism whereas NSC75/Glc-gel (75% succinylation of chitosan) beads follow zero order release profile. The synthesized beads also displayed specificity to lectin Concanavalin A.