[Preparation and physiochemical properties of curcumin-loaded lipid cubic liquid crystalline nanoparticles].

Objective: To prepare curcumin-loaded lipid cubic liquid crystalline nanoparticles and evaluate its physiochemical properties.

Methods: The nanoparticles were prepared using hot and high-pressure homogenization. The prescription and preparation process were optimized by uniform design with drug loading and entrapment efficiency as indexes.

Results: The nanoparticles were spherical under transmission electron microscope (TEM) with average particle size of 176.1 nm, zeta potential of -25.19 mV, average drug loading of (1.5 +/- 0.2)% and entrapment efficiency of (95 +/- 1.8)%. The release equation: In (1-Q) = -0.0251t-0.0075. The cumulative release percentage was 60% at 36 h in vitro.

Conclusion: The obtained curcumin-loaded lipid cubic liquid crystalline nanoparticles shows high entrapment efficiency and good sustain release property.