Development and characterization of co-loaded curcumin/triazole-halloysite systems and evaluation of their potential anticancer activity.

Positively charged halloysite nanotubes functionalized with triazolium salts (f-HNT) were employed as a carrier for curcumin molecules delivery. The synthesis of these f-HNT new materials is described. Their interaction with curcumin was evaluated by means dynamic light scattering (DLS) and UV-vis spectroscopy in comparison with pristine unmodified HNT (p-HNT). The curcumin load into HNT was estimated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) measurements, while the morphology was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques. Release of curcumin from f-HNT, at three different pH values, by means of UV-vis spectroscopy was also studied. Furthermore, different cancer cell lines were used to evaluate the potential cytotoxic effect of HNT at different concentrations and culture times. The results indicated that the f-HNT drug carrier system improves the solubility of curcumin in water, and that the drug-loaded f-HNT exerted cytotoxic effects against different cell lines.