Micelles of poly(ethylene oxide)-b-poly(epsilon-caprolactone) as vehicles for the solubilization, stabilization, and controlled delivery of curcumin.

Curcumin is recognized as a potential chemotherapeutic agent against a variety of tumors. However, the clinical application of curcumin is hindered due to its poor water solubility and fast degradation. The objective of this study was to investigate amphiphilic block copolymer micelles of poly(ethylene oxide)-b-poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PEO-PCL) as vehicles for the solubilization, stabilization, and controlled delivery of curcumin. Curcumin-loaded PEO-PCL micelles were prepared by a cosolvent evaporation technique. PEO-PCL micelles were able to solubilize curcumin effectively, protect the encapsulated curcumin from hydrolytical degradation in physiological matrix, and control the release of curcumin over a few days. The characteristics of resultant micelles were found to depend on the polymerization degrees of epsilon-caprolactone. Among different PEO-PCL micelles, PEO(5000)-PCL(24500) was the most efficient in solubilizing curcumin while PEO(5000)-PCL(13000) was the best carrier in reducing its release rate. PEO-PCL micelle-encapsulated curcumin retained its cytotoxicity in B16-F10, a mouse melanoma cell line, and SP-53, Mino, and JeKo-1 human mantle cell lymphoma cell lines. These results demonstrated the potential of PEO-PCL micelles as an injectable formulation for efficient solubilization, stabilization, and controlled delivery of curcumin.