Lemongrass derived cellulose nanofibers for controlled release of curcumin and its mechanism of action

Abstract The enzyme-based cellulose nanofibers from lemongrass waste were used as a potential carrier for the sustained release of curcumin, a natural anticancer polyphenol against different cancers. However, its low bioavailability, solubility and suboptimal pharmacokinetic issues limit its use in cancer therapeutics. The curcumin was encapsulated into the cellulose nanofibers with the highest encapsulation efficiency of ∼ 99% through homogeneous monolayer adsorption. Further, the binding of curcumin onto the cellulose nanofibers and its morphology were confirmed by FT-IR, molecular interaction study and SEM analysis. The controlled release profile of the encapsulated curcumin was determined at different simulated pH conditions, i.e., 1.2, 5.3, 6.8 and 7.4. At all pH conditions, the highest correlation was observed in Korsmeyer-peppas equation, indicating release occurred through diffusion. Moreover, the nanocomposite conserves the efficacy of curcumin in PC3 cell lines. Hence, the results suggest that the enzyme-based cellulose nanofibers are a good candidate for controlled release for curcumin without hindering its efficacy, which may be applied for pharmaceutical applications.