International Journal of Biological Macromolecules 79 (2015) 440–448 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect International Journal of Biological Macromolecules j ourna l ho me pa g e: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijbiomac Investigation of curcumin release from chitosan/cellulose micro crystals (CMC) antimicrobial films S.K. Bajpai a,∗ , Navin Chand b , Sonam Ahuja a a Polymer Research Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Govt. Model Science College, Jabalpur, M.P. 482001, India b Advanced Materials and Processes Research Institute (CSIR), Bhopal, M.P., India a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 14 March 2015 Received in revised form 1 May 2015 Accepted 13 May 2015 Available online 21 May 2015 Keywords: Phase inversion Chitosan Cellulose Curcumin complex Wound dressings a b s t r a c t Following the novel ‘vapor induced phase inversion’ (VIPI) method, we have prepared curcumin loaded chitosan/cellulose micro crystals composite films and characterized them by thermo gravimetric anal- ysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The equilibrium moisture absorption behavior of these films was investigated under different relative humidity (RH) environments and the data obtained was interpreted by the GAB isotherm model successfully. The films were also stud- ied for their curcumin release behavior in the physiological fluid (PF) at 37 ◦ C and the kinetic data obtained was best interpreted by Higuchi model. Finally, the films showed fair antimicrobial action against bacteria and fungi. © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Since ancient time, Turmeric has been used as a natural healing and antimicrobial agent against wounds [1]. The main biologically active ingredient of Turmeric is curcumin which is a poly (phenolic) compound and actually responsible for antimicrobial properties. The Food and Drug Administration Department of USA has rec- ognized it as a safe compound [2]. There have been some reports which claim that curcumin has excellent anticancer properties [3]. Indeed, a large amount of research has been carried out to prove antimicrobial and wound healing properties of curcumin [4–6]. Chi- tosan is a biopolymer and it is obtained from the de-acetylation of its native polymer chitin [7]. The de-acetylation is carried out under strong alkaline conditions and degree of de-acetylation varies with the experimental conditions[8]. Chitosan is a biocompatible and biodegradable polymer and has a number of biomedical applica- tions which include wound dressings [9], drug delivery [10], porous scaffolds for cells re-generation [11,12], etc. Because of low cost, abundant availability and excellent film forming capability [13], it is also used in food packaging [14]. Most recently [15], we reported a unique approach, i.e. ‘vapor induced phase inversion (VIPI)’ to prepare cellulose crystals-loaded chitosan films with controllable water absorption and moisture permeation properties. Following ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 9993220651. E-mail address: sunil.mnlbpi@gmail.com (S.K. Bajpai). the same VIPI approach, we hereby report some physico-chemical properties and moisture absorption behavior of curcumin loaded chitosan/cellulose composite films. The curcumin release behavior and antimicrobial activity of these films is also studied. 2. Materials and methods 2.1. Materials Chitosan with a degree of deacetylation (DD) of 93% and vis- cosity average molecular weight of 1463 kDa was obtained from Research Lab, Mumbai, India and was used with no further treat- ment. Cellulose micro crystals (CMC), liquid ammonia, various salts to produce required relative humidity (RH) were obtained from Hi Media Chemicals, Mumbai, India and were analytical grade. Turmeric was purchased from the local market. The double distilled water was used throughout the investigations. 2.2. Extraction of CC from turmeric Curcumin (Cur) was obtained from turmeric following the method proposed elsewhere [16]. In brief, 15 g of fine turmeric powder was suspended in 150 ml of acetone under moderate stir- ring for 72 h at 30 ◦ C. The mixture was filtered and the filtrate was poured into a Petri plate and the solvent was evaporated under vac- uum to obtain semi-dry oily mass. The oily mass was weighed and http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2015.05.012 0141-8130/© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.