Curcumin-Loaded ZIF-8 Nanomaterials: Exploring Drug Loading Efficiency and Biomedical Performance
Mahbubur Rahman, Mohashin Kabir, Tarikul Islam, Yafei Wang, Qi Meng, Hailei Liu, Shaojuan Chen, Shaohua Wu
Abstract
High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Curcumin (cur) possesses excellent therapeutic properties, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and healing-promoting effects. However, its biomedical application is impeded by its rapid degradation, limited bioavailability, and poor aqueous solubility. Zeolitic imidazole framework (ZIF-8), with a high surface area and tunable pore size, is designed and used as a cur delivery carrier to overcome these limitations. The synthesis of cur-loaded ZIF-8 involves a solvothermal method, followed by encapsulation of cur within the porous structure of ZIF-8. The amount of cur was varied to synthesize a series of panel cur-loaded ZIF-8. 0.5 mg/mL cur@ZIF-8 that showed higher drug loading efficiency (85.91 ± 1.26%) and drug loading capability (12.93 ± 0.19%) without changes in shape, size, crystallinity, chemical composition, and thermal stability of original ZIF-8. 0.5 mg/mL cur@ZIF-8 exhibited excellent surface area (1591.02 m 2 /g) and micropore volume (0.54 cm 3 /g). Cur@ZIF-8 demonstrated superior thermal stability and outstanding antibacterial properties, achieving 99% efficiency compared with free cur. It exhibited less cytotoxicity against human fibroblast cells and better antioxidant properties than ZIF-8. Furthermore, the drug release rate of cur@ZIF-8 is higher under acidic conditions, which promotes wound healing due to the acidic microenvironment of the skin. The biocompatibility and stability of cur@ZIF-8 nanoparticles highlight their potential as promising candidates for diverse biomedical applications.