Zeolite Nanoporous Materials Loaded with Curcumin as Anti-Cancer Drug Delivery Systems

In this work, a combination of different techniques has been used to assess the potential use of zeolite nanoporous materials for the delivery of natural bioactive curcumin. Curcumin is a water-insoluble drug extracted from turmeric (Curcuma longa) plant. In recent years, the potential anticancer effect of curcumin in suppressing many types of cancers, while showing a synergistic antitumor effect with other anticancer agents, has attracted great attention. However, the poorly soluble formulation of curcumin is a problem, which is normally overcome by the application of high drug dosage in oral formulations. Encapsulation of curcumin into a suitable carrier can render the drug completely dispersible and overcome its insolubility. Zeolites are inorganic crystalline aluminosilicates with porous structure on the nano- and micro-scale and high internal surface areas, which are known as adsorbents, molecular sieves and ion exchange materials. These properties of zeolites make them useful as pharmaceutical carrier systems to encapsulate drugs whit intrinsic low aqueous solubility and improve their dissolution. In our research, we explore the use of three different types of zeolites, X, Y, and A with different chemical composition and pore diameter, loaded with curcumin. The surface properties and morphology of these zeolite-based carriers, as well as the effect of drug loading and release, were investigated by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and chemical analyses. Results regarding the release studies of the bioactive molecule from the different zeolites and the optimum conditions for drug loading will be reported. These results will indicate the potential of our zeolite carrier systems for curcumin loading and delivery in anti-cancer applications.