Controlled Release of Curcumin from Hydrogels: Biomedical Applications with a Focus on Neurodegenerative Diseases

Abstract

A lot of works have shown Curcumin (Cur) as a potential candidate in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs) such as atherosclerosis, stroke, Huntington’s, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s. The therapeutic potential of Cur in NDDs has been linked to its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-protein aggregation effects. However, one of the main factors that have limited the application of Cur is the scarcity of clinical trials to evaluate its therapeutic efficacy due to its extremely low aqueous solubility, instability, low oral bioavailability associated with the low aqueous solubility, rapid metabolism, and elimination from the bloodstream. Hydrogel matrixes are an interesting way for Cur carrying, mainly to protect the Cur against instability and enhance the low bioavailability. The encapsulation of Cur in polymeric micelles and hydrogels is an example of an important strategy to facilitate its delivery and release in the human body to protect against several diseases, including in NDDs. Therefore, 3D matrices of hydrogels, made up of polymers, are materials with characteristics and requirements suitable for applications such as drug delivery systems (DDS). This chapter centers around the neuroprotective properties of Cur and its utilization in both the treatment and prevention of NDDs. Almost 180 references are cited ca. 120 of them published in the last 5 years.