Establishment of analytical method for quantification of anti-inflammatory agents co-nanoencapsulated and its application to physicochemical development and characterization of lipid-core nanocapsules

Anti-inflammatory agents may be alternatives for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Then, we propose the nanotechnology as a strategy to curcumin and meloxicam co-nanoencapsulation for neurodegenerative diseases treatment. In this study, we developed and validated an analytical method by HPLC-DAD for simultaneous quantification of curcumin and meloxicam in the same formulation. We applied this method to characterize curcumin, meloxican and curcumin plus meloxican loaded lipid-core nanocapsules (LNC): drug content, encapsulation efficiency, photostability and drug's distribution. Additionally, toxicity levels of the nanoparticles were evaluated in vivo (mice). Therefore a C18-RP column was used with a guard column packed with the same material as the stationary phase. Acetonitrile: methanol: water: triethylamine (52:5:43:0.3 v/v/v/v), was used as the mobile phase in the 1 mL min−1 flow. Detection was 424 nm (curcumin) and 365 nm (meloxicam). The method was established in accordance with the current national and international guidelines, showing good linearity (r2 > 0.999). The formulations showed exclusively nanosized particles, negative zeta potential and slightly acidic pH, with content and encapsulation rate close to 100%. The distributions of meloxicam and curcumin in the LNC (alone or co-encapsulated) were type III and type VI, respectively. LNC were able to protect both drugs against UVA degradation. In vivo experiments showed no toxicity in relation to the parameters determined of all LNC evaluated in mice. In this work, we showed the possibility to carry meloxicam and curcumin in LNC with good technological characteristics and without toxicity in vivo with prospects for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease in sequential pharmacological studies. Keywords: Lipid-core nanocapsules, HPLC-PDA, Alzheimer’s disease, Curcumin, Meloxicam