Evaluation of the efficacy of Niosomal Curcumin Nanoformulation in Cancer therapy

During the past decade vesicles as a tool to improve drug delivery, has created a lot of interest amongst the scientist working in the area of drug delivery systems. Based on their biodegradable, biocompatible and nonimmunogenic structure, niosomes are promising drug carriers that are formed by self-assembly of nonionic surfactants and cholesterol in an aqueous phase. Curcumin (Cur),  a natural polyphenol found in Curcuma longa, has been utilized in multiple medicinal areas from antibiotic to antitumor treatment. However, the chemical structure of curcumin results in poor stability, low solubility and rapid degradation in vivo, limiting its clinical utilization. To address these problems, we have prepared a niosome system composed of nonionic surfactants polyoxyethylene sorbitan monostearate and cholesterol by thin film hydration method. The niosomal curcumin was evaluated for anti-cancer efficacy in prostate cancer cell line (PC-3) by MTT assay. Cur was encapsulated in the niosomes with a high entrapment efficiency of 98.4 ± 0.4%. Average particle size was found to be 127.5 ± 1.2 nm. Niosomal curcumin (Nio -Cur)  exhibited enhanced cytotoxic activity against PC-3 cells compared with free Cur. These results demonstrated that the Nio -Cur system is a promising strategy for the delivery of Cur and prostate cancer therapy.