Pectin-ester as sustained release targeted delivery of curcumin: synthesis, characterization and in-vitro simulation studies

Abstract The advancement of sustained-release drug delivery systems is profoundly reshaping the medicinal applications. This study highlights a novel approach to developing sustained-release esterase responsive drug delivery system for curcumin. It includes the synthesis of curcumin-pectin-ester with 58% binding efficiency, followed by characterization using FTIR, solid UV, XRD, SEM, and a particle size analyzer. In-vitro simulations were conducted to evaluate the behavior of curcumin–pectin ester in gastric, duodenum and intestinal fluids as well as liver homogenate. The findings revealed that curcumin–pectin ester remains stable in gastric, duodenum and intestinal fluids. Its hydrolysis was found to be strongly pH-dependent, occurring in the presence of liver homogenate at pH 8.0, an optimum pH of esterases, and 40% of sustained release of curcumin was observed over a period of 4 h. These findings suggest that, due to its intestinal stability, the synthesized ester functions as a prodrug system and delivers curcumin specifically by the esterases present in liver homogenate through the catalytic action.