LAUSR

Abstract This study was aimed to prepare curcumin composite particles by spray drying to improve the dissolution of curcumin and subsequently to determine the anti-cancer activity of the composite particles. The composite particles containing various proportions of curcumin, lactose monohydrate and a selected polymer, i.e. hydroxypropylmethylcellulose15LV (HPMC15LV) or polyvinylpyrrolidone-K30 (PVP-K30), were fabricated by spray drying with a specific condition. The particle size of the particles was mostly smaller than 10 microns. The physicochemical characterizations suggested that the composite particles were amorphous and showed molecular interaction between curcumin and the incorporated polymers. Type and proportion of incorporated polymers affected the curcumin content and the curcumin release. The composite particles using HPMC15LV showed a faster release rate than that of using PVP-K30 and they markedly showed a significantly higher dissolution rate than the unprocessed curcumin powder. The anti-cancer activity on lung cancer cells (A549 cells) showed that the composite particles using HPMC15LV exhibited the activity to decrease the percentage of survival cancer cells and its activity was superior to that of unprocessed curcumin. In conclusion, the spray dried composite particles containing curcumin might be employed as a delivery system to treat cancer because of their suitably physicochemical properties and anti-cancer activity.