5-fluorouracil and curcuminoids extract from Curcuma longa L. loaded into nanohydroxyapatite as a drug delivery carrier for SKOV-3 and HepG2 cancer cells treatment

Nanostructural hydroxyapatite (HAp) with a uniform rod-like shapes sized in 8 ± 1 nm diameter and 45 ± 9 nm length was prepared within the facile and cost-effective co-precipitation technique as a porous platform for the immobilization and release of an anticancer drug – 5-fluorouracil. The HAp was stabilized with the biologically active curcuminoids directly extracted from Curcuma longa L. rhizome such as curcumin (curcumin I), demethoxycurcumin (curcumin II), bisdemethoxycurcumin (curcumin III). Due to the high surface: volume ratio HAp offered a high intake of biologically active compounds. Turbidimetry results confirmed the stability of the aqueous suspension of the modified HAp. In vitro tests on SKOV-3 and HepG2 model cell lines examined by MTS assay lines revealed the cytotoxicity of nanocomposite loaded with drug and curcuminoids. In addition, Langmuir trough method was used to study the effect of proposed nanocomposite on biomimetic membranes.