Abstract: Objective  To improve the solubility of curcumin in water and its bioavailability by preparing curcumin-loaded bile salt/phospholipid mixed micelles. Methods  Curcumin-loaded bile salt/phospholipid mixed micelles were prepared by the film dispersion method. Based on the single factor exploration, the central composite design-response surface methodology was employed to optimize the preparation technology with drug loading and entrapment efficiency as indicators. The physicochemical properties such as micromorphology, particle size and zeta potential were evaluated. The dialysis method was used to investigate the in vitro release process of curcumin from micelles. Results  The particles of curcumin-loaded bile salt/phospholipid mixed micelles were spherical and well dispersed with the average size of (66.5±1.5) nm and the zeta potential of (-26.96±0.95) mV. Curcumin was encapsulated in bile salt/phospholipid mixed micelles with loading capacity of (13.48±0.21)% and entrapment efficiency of (87.13±0.98)%. The solubility of curcumin in water was 3.14 mg/mL, and the Results   of the in vitro release showed that the mixed micelles presented the obvious sustained-release behavior. Conclusion  The curcumin-loaded bile salt/phospholipid mixed micelles system might serve as a promising nanocarrier to improve the solubility of curcumin.

Key words: Curcumin, Solubility, Bile salt/phospholipid, Micellles