Selective delivery of curcumin to HER2/neu-overexpressing tumor cells using nanoscale oil body

• Published in: Journal of the Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers Vol. 99; pp. 38 - 44
• Main Authors: Chiang, Chung-Jen, Chen, Chin-Jung, Liou, Pei-Jie, Chao, Yun-Peng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.06.2019
• Subjects: Curcumin; HER2/neu; Nanoscale oil body; Targeted delivery; Curcumin; HER2/neu; Targeted delivery; Nanoscale oil body
• ISSN: 1876-1070; 1876-1089
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jtice.2019.03.013

•Nanoscale oil bodies (NOBs) were functionalized and encapsulated with curcumin (CCM).neu affibody.•NOBs displayed high encapsulation efficiency and loading of CCM.•NOBs enabled targeted delivery of CCM into HER2/neu-positive tumor cells.•CCM-loaded NOBs elicited a strong anti-proliferative effect on tumor cells. Curcumin (CCM) is a polyphenolic compound originating from the rhizome of Curcuma longa. In addition to its conventional use as food flavoring, CCM exhibits a high cytotoxic activity against a wide range of tumor cells. However, CCM has poor bioavailability due to its hydrophobic nature. In this study, nanoscale oil bodies (NOBs) were explored for the formulation of CCM. The one-step assembly of NOBs was carried out with CCM, plant oil, phospholipids, and the fusion protein consisting of oleosin and the anti-HER2/neu affibody. NOBs displayed the high encapsulation efficiency of and loading capacity of CCM. Moreover, it resulted in a strong anti-proliferative effect on HER2/neu-positive tumor cells which were administrated with the CCM-loaded NOBs. The result indicates the potential application of NOBs for targeted delivery of CCM.