Self-Assembling Topical Nanomicellar Formulation to Improve Curcumin Absorption Across Ocular Tissues.

Self-Assembling Topical Nanomicellar Formulation to Improve Curcumin Absorption Across Ocular Tissues. AAPS PharmSciTech. 2019 Jul 17;20(7):254 Authors: Alshamrani M, Sikder S, Coulibaly F, Mandal A, Pal D, Mitra AK Abstract The pathophysiological mechanisms for dry and wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) involve oxidative stress and increased VEGF release and expression. An ideal drug candidate for both types of AMD is the one which offers significant protection to the retinal cells from oxidative stress and inhibit VEGF release. Curcumin is one such natural product which provides numerous beneficial effects including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-VEGF activities and has the potential for the treatment of both types of AMD. The bioavailability of curcumin is negligible due to its poor aqueous solubility. The purpose of this work is to develop an aqueous nanomicellar drop formulation of curcumin (CUR-NMF) for back of the eye delivery utilizing hydrogenated castor oil (HCO-40) and octoxynol-40 (OC-40) to treat AMD. A full factorial design was performed with JMP software analysis to optimize the formulation size, polydispersity index (PDI), entrapment efficiency, loading, and precipitation. MTT and LDH assays on human retinal pigmented epithelial (D407) cells revealed that 5-10 μM CUR-NMF dose is safe for ophthalmic use. Furthermore, CUR-NMF exhibited significant protection of retinal (D407) cells against H2O2-induc...
Source: AAPS PharmSciTech - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Tags: AAPS PharmSciTech Source Type: research