Effect of Curcumin-Loaded Polymeric Nanoparticles on Ischaemia-Reperfusion (I

Abstract

Objectives To determine the effectiveness of PLGA nanoparticles with curcumin (PLGA-curcumin) in preserving primary cardiomyocyte culture viability and functionality after I/R injury Materials and methods PLGA-curcumin was made by mixing PLGA and curcumin at a ratio of 10:1, transferring to PBS, stirring, sonication, and centrifugation. Obtained pellets were washed, filtered, and evaluated in a Zetasizer. Primary cardiomyocyte cells were isolated from the hearts of 3-5 days-old Wistar rats, grown until cardiomyocyte contractions appeared, treated with PLGA-curcumin and subjected to 24h hypoxia (2% oxygen) followed by 24h reoxygenation. Total metabolic activity was measured by PrestoBlue fluorescence. QRS complex contraction time of adrenaline-stimulated cardiomyocytes - by the ImageJ plugin Myocyter (PMID: 31641278). Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS 29.0 software using Student's t-test; p<0.05 was considered significant. Results Hypoxia/reoxygenation induced a 37,6% decrease in cardiomyocyte metabolic activity compared to the control (p<0.028). PLGA-curcumin and free curcumin protected cardiomyocytes to a similar extent; the average metabolic activity rise-up from hypoxia/reoxygenation levels in these groups was 14% (p<0.012) and 13% (p<0.024), respectively. QRS peak-time measured at a 10% threshold after hypoxia/reoxygenation with PLGA‑curcumin was by 0.053 second slower than in hypoxia/reoxygenation samples (p<0.043), and there was no such improvement observed after free curcumin treatment. Conclusions PLGA-curcumin protect cardiomyocytes from I/R-induced damage more efficiently than free curcumin: both treatments similarly preserve metabolic activity, but only PLGA-curcumin maintains cardiomyocyte function.