LAUSR

In this study, we developed oral core-shell nanoparticles composed of curcumin nanocrystals in the core and chitosan/alginate multilayers in the shell for inflammation-targeted alleviation of ulcerative colitis (UC). Release rate of curcumin from the core-shell nanoparticles was low at a pH mimicking the stomach and small intestine, whereas it was higher at a pH mimicking the colon. Further, bio-distribution studies in the gastrointestinal tract of mice showed that distribution of nanoparticles was significantly higher in colon than that in stomach and small intestine. Quantitative analysis of drug in colonic tissues and confocal imagining of colons revealed preferential accumulation of nanoparticles in inflamed tissues than that in healthy tissues. In vivo anti-inflammatory studies revealed that nanoparticles exhibit enhanced efficacy in alleviating inflammation-related symptoms in mouse colitis model. The results suggest that the core-shell nanoparticles presented here can be exploited as efficient colon-targeted drug delivery systems for UC therapy.