Improved topical delivery of curcumin by hydrogels formed by composite carriers integrated with cyclodextrin metal-organic frameworks and cyclodextrin nanosponges

Curcumin (CUR) is highly promising for topical therapeutic applications, but water-insolubility is one of the major challenges plaguing its drugability, while conventional lipid nanocarriers are limited by low drug-carrying capacity, many additives, and complex processes. In the current work, we constructed a composite carrier integrated with cyclodextrin metal-organic framework (γ-CD-MOF) and cyclodextrin nanosponge (β-CDNS), in which the γ-CD-MOF had 13.9 % drug loading and 267.1-fold increase in solubility in water for CUR, and the β-CDNS showed bioadhesion and further increasing drug solubility. The composite carrier (γ-CD-MOF@β-CDNS) significantly improved the in vitro release and transdermal permeation of CUR, and its limited water absorption properties and excellent bioadhesion create an advantage in the local administration of the drug for treating diseases with high exudate, which prevents the affected area from deteriorating the condition by counter-absorption of water from the formulation. Thus, this composite carrier contributes a new option to address the local delivery of insoluble drugs and offers a promising strategy for the clinical application of CUR.