(NaPO3)6-assisted formation of dispersive casein-amorphous calcium phosphate nanoparticles: An excellent platform for curcumin delivery

Abstract Although much effort has been focused on the preparation of stable amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) nanoparticles, the poor dispersity of ACP nanoparticles in aqueous solution remain an unresolved problem. In this work, hexametaphosphate ((NaPO3)6) was used as a green dispersant to disperse casein-stabilized ACP (casein-ACP) nanoparticles in aqueous solution. Characterization of casein-ACP nanoparticles by X-ray diffraction (XRD) proved that the casein-induced amorphous structures could maintained for at least 3 months at room temperature. Moreover, the effects of (NaPO3)6 solutions for dispersing casein-ACP nanoparticles in water was studied and their ability to stabilize aqueous casein-ACP dispersions was demonstrated by digital photos. A typical anticancer drug, curcumin (Cur), was employed to evaluate the drug loading abilities and drug release behaviors of prepared nanoparticles. The results showed that the resultants have high drug loading capacity and favorable pH-responsive drug release properties. Furthermore, this drug delivery system showed an excellent ability to damage A549 cells, indicated that the as-prepared casein-ACP-(NaPO3)6 nanoparticles are promising for the applications in drug delivery.