In vitro biocompatibility and release of curcumin from curcumin microcomplex-loaded chitosan scaffold

Context: Scaffold if suitably modified could be used as a drug delivery system. Objective: To develop chitosan scaffold as a delivery system for delivering curcumin in wound-healing application. Materials and methods: Chitosan-curcumin microcomplex particles were prepared, and the effect of drug-polymer ratio (DPR) and homogenisation speed (HS) was studied using a two-level full-factorial design. Chitosan scaffold was prepared and incorporated with curcumin microcomplexes to obtain a chitosan scaffold-containing chitosan-curcumin microcomplex (CS-CCM). Antimicrobial property of the CS-CCM against Escherichia coli was studied. The cytotoxicity of CS-CCM was studied by assessing the cell viability by MTT assay. Results and discussion: DPR had a significant effect (p ≤ 0.05) on the drug content. CS-CCM was able to inhibit the growth of E. coli considerably. The MTT results showed that CS-CCM is non-cytotoxic and supports cell proliferation. Conclusion: CS-CCM due to its biocompatibility and antimicrobial property could be further evaluated for potential application in wound healing.