Nose-to-brain delivery of self-assembled curcumin-nanocochleates for glioblastoma treatment

This study accentuates design, development, and evaluation of curcumin (CUR)-loaded nanocochleates (NCs) for nose-to-brain delivery to treat glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). The main aim was to improve the brain bioavailability and neurotherapeutic efficacy by delivering the high amounts of CUR at the target site. The BoxBehnken experimental design was utilized to select the optimum NCs formulation, adopting numerical and graphical optimization techniques. This selection was further ascertained using 3D response-surface plots and a multilinear regression model with ANOVA validating the significance of the proposed models. Fabricated CURNCs were characterized and evaluated for physicochemical properties viz. particle size, zeta-potential, drug content and entrapment efficiency, morphology, drug release and permeation, in vitro cytotoxicity, and in vivo brain pharmacokinetic studies. The findings of this study indicate that the CUR-NCs shows promise for improved neurotherapeutic efficacy after intranasal (IN) administration. Present approach has immense potential to significantly enhance the delivery rate of CUR to the brain, offering a potential solution for GBM treatment.