Fabrication of curcumin-loaded bovine serum albumin (BSA)-dextran nanoparticles and the cellular antioxidant activity

Bovine serum albumin (BSA)-dextran conjugate was prepared with glycation. Self-assembly nanoparticles were synthesized with a green, and facile approach. The effects of dry-heating time on the fabrication and characteristics of BSA-dextran conjugate nanoparticles were examined. Stable nanoparticles (<200 nm) were formed after only 6 h dry-heating because enough dextran was grafted onto the BSA to provide significant steric hindrance. Particle size decreased with the increase of dry-heating time and the lowest particle size (51.2 nm) was obtained after 24 h dry-heating. The nanoparticles were stable in a wide pH range (pH 2.0–7.0). The particle size of nanoparticles increased to 115 nm after curcumin incorporation and was stable even after one-month storage. TEM results demonstrated that curcumin-loaded nanoparticles displayed a spherical structure and were homogeneously dispersed. Curcumin in BSA-dextran nanoparticle showed better stability, compared to free curcumin. In addition, BSA-dextran nanoparticles can improve the cellular antioxidant activity of curcumin in Caco-2 cells.