Fish gelatin nanoparticles: An effective carrier for curcumin delivery

Curcumin is a nutraceutical with numerous medicinal activities due to its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-cancer properties. It has shown promise in treating several diseases, including cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. However, the low solubility, instability, and permeability of curcumin render its bioavailability at the target site limited. Thus, new strategies must be explored to exploit the full medicinal potential of curcumin. In this context, drug delivery vehicles may be developed to improve the targeted delivery. Herein, Fish gelatin nanoparticles (FGNPs) were fabricated by the chemical cross-linking method and characterized by numerous techniques, including DLS, AFM, SEM, TGA, FT-IR spectroscopy, UV–visible spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, and fluorescence microscopy. The loading of curcumin on FGNPs led to a growth in size from 70 nm to 85 nm. The curcumin loading capacity of FGNPs was found to be 75 %, and more than 80 % of the loaded drug was released sustainably in 48 h. The loading and release of curcumin from FGNPs were evaluated using molecular docking and compared with the literature. Different kinetic models were employed to assess the release mechanism of curcumin from Cur-FGNPs. Finally, enhancement in the biological activity by its delivery through Cur-FGNPs was evaluated by its cytotoxicity, anti-cancer, and antioxidant activity. Cytotoxicity assay of FGNPs confirmed that it was fairly safe for healthy cells. The anti-cancer activity of curcumin delivered through Cur-FGNPs has doubled compared to the direct application of curcumin. Similar improvement was also noted in the antioxidant activity of curcumin. Our study demonstrated the excellent potential of FGNPs as a carrier for drugs in general and nutraceuticals in particular to exploit their full potential.