Anti-breast Cancer Activity of pH-responsive Nanogel Loaded with Curcumin

We prepared curcumin (Cur)/carboxymethyl-β-cyclodextrin (CM-β-CD) complex by grinding method. According to the characteristics of the tumor microenvironment, a pH-responsive nanogel loaded with Cur was designed and prepared (by CM-β-CD and chitosan) and consequently characterized by DLS, TEM, FTIR, 1H NMR, SEM, etc. In vitro release results show that Cur-loaded Chitosan-CM-β-CD nanogel (Cur-CS-CM-β-CD) released Cur rapidly under acidic conditions, and its cumulative release rate is 41%, 56% and 67% at pH 7.4, 6.5 and 5.5, respectively. The cell inhibition rate of Cur-CS-CM-β-CD on MCF-7 cell lines was detected by the MTT assay. The results suggest the cell inhibition rate of Cur-CS-CM-β-CD is (50.2±2.5)% at 10 µM, (98.3±1.2)% at 40 µM and (97.5±1.2)% at 80 µM, respectively. It is revealed that the pH-responsive nanogel loaded Cur can effectively inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells and has the potential for clinical application.