Nanovesicles containing curcumin hold promise in the development of new formulations of anti-Acanthamoebic agents.

Balsam Qubais Saeed, Kashif Hussain, Noor Akbar, Hamza Khan, Ruqaiyyah Siddiqui, Raza Muhammad Shah, Naveed Ahmed Khan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

16 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In this study, curcumin-nanoformulations were tested for anti-Acanthamoebic properties. Curcumin-loaded nanovesicles were synthesized, followed by characterization with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry, and atomic force microscopy. Using amoebicidal assay, the effects of curcumin-nanoformulations were investigated against A. castellanii belonging to the T4 genotype. To determine the effects of curcumin-nanoformulations on host cells, cytotoxicity assays were performed using human keratinocyte cells (HaCat). The results revealed that nanovesicles formulation of curcumin enhanced the anti-Acanthamoebic effects of curcumin as compared with curcumin alone. The viability decreased with increasing concentration of curcumin and/or lipid-based carrier (Noisome) (FCBR18) in a dose-dependent manner. Curcumin and curcumin-loaded nanovesicles exhibited minimal cytotoxic effects against human cells in all tested concentrations. Both concentrations of FCBR18 proved effective in inhibiting amoebae excystation. In contrast, curcumin alone showed insignificant effects against amoebae excystation.

Taken together, these findings clearly showed that curcumin-loaded nanovesicles show enhanced anti-Acanthamoebic efficacy without harming human cells, and these nanotherapeutics may hold promise in the development of new formulations of anti-Acanthamoebic agents.
Original languageEnglish
Article number111430
JournalMolecular and Biochemical Parasitology
Volume247
Early online date20 Nov 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2022

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