Sono-assembly of folate-decorated curcumins/alginate core-shell microcomplex and its targeted delivery and pH/reduction dual-triggered release

In this study, sodium alginate (SA), a non-toxic natural polysaccharide with good biocompatibility and biodegradability, was developed for targeted delivery of curcumin (CUR) in tumor therapy. The strategy is to sulfhydrylate the folic acid (FA) modified SA, and the CUR dissolved in ethyl acetate (EAC) phase is coated in microcapsules by a quick, efficient and environment-friendly sonochemical method. The EAC in the microcapsule core is volatile, which can be recycled and reused to reduce cost. The prepared microcapsules (FA-RSMCs@CUR) exhibited similar toxicity to free curcumin in anti-tumour evaluation in vitro. FA-RSMCs@CUR also exhibited effective antibacterial properties in the antibacterial evaluation in vitro. It is expected to become a low-cost tumor targeting vector in the future, and has the potential to be promoted in clinical application.