Coordination-Bonded Fucoidan-Based Curcumin Nanoparticle for Cancer-Targeted Therapy

Owing to great anticancer activity and excellent biosafety, curcumin (Cur) has potential development in cancer therapy. Nevertheless, the anticancer activity of Cur is limited by the poor selectivity toward tumors and low bioavailability. Inspired by coordination-driven self-assembly, it is a promising strategy for controlling drug delivery due to its rich structure and properties, easy composition integration, and biodegradation. Here, a fucoidan-based Cur nanoparticle constructed from natural components synthesized via a green one-pot reaction of Cur, fucoidan (FU), and Zn2+ based on coordination-driven self-assembly, namely, FU/Zn2+/Cur-nanoparticles (FZC-NPs), was reported for improving cancer therapy. The obtained FZC-NPs displayed a small hydrodynamic diameter, high stability, high drug loading efficiency, glutathione (GSH)-triggered drug accurate release behaviors, fast intracellular uptake, and good penetrability ability into the tumor spheres. Compared to free Cur, FZC-NPs had a stronger ability to induce mitochondrial damage and inhibit tumor cell invasion and migration. The in vivo experiments showed that FZC-NPs had effective accumulation in tumor sites, excellent antitumor activity, and good biocompatibility. These results confirmed that the developed FZC-NPs is a safe and anticancer performance therapeutic agent for cancer-targeted therapy.