Characterization of Hyaluronan-Decorated Flexible Liposome Loaded with Curcumin

Abstract

Psoriasis is a widely known chronic skin disease with no cure. Psoriasis causes a rash with itchy, scaly patches. The most common topical treatment of psoriasis is the use of corticosteroids as anti-inflammatory agents, which can result in side effects such as skin thinning, acne, and swelling. Alternatively, a natural ingredient, curcumin, can be employed as an anti-inflammatory agent. However, curcumin has weak water solubility, limited bioavailability, quick metabolism, and quick systemic elimination; hence modification is required to increase its effectiveness. To increase the effectiveness of curcumin, it can be encapsulated in an active delivery system. Curcumin can be directly delivered to the disease cells by decorating the delivery system with a functional ligand such as hyaluronan (HA). Cell adhesion protein CD44, which is expressed in several inflammatory diseases, serves as a cell surface receptor for hyaluronan. In this study, hyaluronan was conjugated to a flexible liposome. Thin-film hydration method was used to prepare the flexible liposome. The delivery system was characterized using Dynamic Light Scattering, Transmission Electron Microscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography. HA-decorated liposomes obtained had an average size of 95.48 nm (with 0.247 polydispersity index), had a zeta potential of -49.3 mV, was spherical, and had an average encapsulation efficiency of 34.01%. Additionally, absorbance bands from FTIR spectra showed that HA and curcumin functional groups were observed in the decorated liposome. The results from the characterization study showed that HA-decorated flexible liposomes loaded with curcumin with acceptable characteristics had been obtained.