APPLICATION OF 23 FULL-FACTORIAL DESIGN FOR DEVELOPMENT AND OPTIMIZATION OF BIOCOMPATIBLE, BIODEGRADABLE SOLID LIPID NANOPARTICLES CONTAINING CURCUMIN

Curcumin (C), a natural anticancer agent suffers extremely low aqueous solubility and rapid systemic elimination, therefore,  the aim from the present study was to develop and optimize biocompatible, biodegradable solid lipid nanoparticles containing curcumin (CSLNs) using Solvent Injection Method. The components selected to develop the SLNs were Glycerol MonoStearate (GMS; the lipidic carrier), Poloxamer 407 (P407; Surfactant) and Ethanol (solvent for the drug and the lipidic carrier). The combination and ratios for the optimization process were carried out using 2³ full-factorial designs. The experimental design runs (8 formulations H1–H8) were prepared and the design dependent responses (assessment of particle size, Entrapment Efficiency % and the in vitro release study) were characterized. The developed formulae showed a nanometric particle size range (203.0–345.0nm), high Entrapment Efficiency % (62.77–87.42 %) and prolonged release over 24 hr periods (55.97–89.64 %). These results were analyzed using JMP^® 10 software and its analytical tools were used to draw Pareto charts and the interactions plots. On the basis of the software analysis, formulation H9 with a desirability factor of 0.582 was selected as the optimized formulation and was evaluated for the dependent responses. Formulation H9 showed a particle size of 249.1 nm, 74.51 % Entrapment efficiency, 85.72 % in vitro release over 24 hr and these results suggested that the solid lipid nanoparticles formulations could be a promising method to sustain the release of curcumin.