Nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) are drug delivery systems with remarkable
physicochemical stability, biocompatibility, biodegradability and can offer controlled drug
release. This study aimed to develop and characterize nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs)
containing curcumin (CUR-NLCs) as a primary step in improving curcumin delivery. The
effect of certain formulation and processing parameters on the developed CUR-NLCs
properties were investigated. In this work, different concentrations and types of surfactants
(Pluronic F-127, Pluronic F-68, and Tween 80) were used to stabilize NLC dispersions.
Moreover, two different solid lipids (Compritol 888 ATO and Precirol ATO 5) and several
liquid lipids (Labrafac lipophile WL 1349, refined olive oil, oleic acid and glyceryl
caprylate/caprate) were used. The emulsification/ultrasonication technique was employed to
prepare the CUR-NLCs, either using a magnetic stirrer/probe sonicator method or rotorstator
homogenizer/ultrasonic water bath method. The physical and chemical properties of
the formulations were evaluated, including particle size, polydispersity index, and zeta
potential. The obtained results showed that increasing surfactant concentration from 0.5 to
2% w/v and reducing the total lipid percentage by weight from 5 to 2% w/v had significant
impact on the nanoparticle properties. Finally, the formulation with the lowest mean particle
size diameter (59.49 ± 0.71 nm) with a zeta potential of –14.13 ± 1.06 mV and PDI of 0.27
was selected and it showed relatively high entrapment efficiency (75.33 ± 5.06%) and
prolonged drug release (≈ 60% within 72 hours).