Interaction of Green Polymer Blend of Modified Sodium Alginate and Carboxylmethyl Cellulose Encapsulation of Turmeric Extract

Turmeric extract (tmr) loaded nanoparticles were prepared by crosslinking modified carboxylmethyl cellulose (CMC) and modified sodium alginate (SA) with calcium ions, in a high pressure homogenizer. The FTIR spectra of CMC and SA were affected by blending due to hydrogen bonding. The negative zeta potential increased in magnitude with CMC content. The smallest nanoparticles were produced with a 10？:？5 SA/CMC blend. Also the release rates of the extract loading were measured, with model fits indicating that the loading level affected the release rate through nanoparticle structure. The 10？:？5 SA/CMC blend loading with tmr and pure tmr showed a good % growth inhibition of colon cancer cells which indicate that tmr in the presence of curcumin in tmr retains its anticancer activity even after being loaded into SA/CMC blend matrix. 1. Introduction Sodium alginate (SA) and carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) are major commercial polysaccharide polymers and easily available. This is due to their advantages including low cost, biocompatibility, and biodegradability. SA consists of a-L-guluronic acid and b-D-mannuronic acid substituents and is an anionic polysaccharide, while CMC is the major commercial derivative of cellulose and is an ionic ether. These polysaccharides contain carboxylate groups (？COO) in their backbones. The carboxylate groups (？COO？) of SA form complexes with divalent cations such as Ca2+ that cause its electrostatic crosslinking. Mixtures of SA and CMC have been studied in prior work. For example, when SA was mixed with CMC using methylenebisacrylamide (MBA) as a crosslinking agent and ammonium persulfate (APS) as an initiator, the swelling ratio of the blend decreased with increasing MBA and APS concentrations. In contrast, the swelling ratio of these hydrogels increased with the reaction temperature and with the fraction of SA. The crosslinked SA/CMC blends exhibited a reasonable sensitivity to pH [1]. When both SA and CMC were blended with pullulan in an aqueous polymer solution [2], the water barrier and mechanical properties weakened significantly. The blend had comparatively weak hydrogen bonds acting on ？OH groups, relative to pure pullulan. Crosslinked SA/CMC blends have been prepared by the casting solution method, under various gamma rays irradiation doses [3]. With increased irradiation both the gel fraction and the swelling ratio of SA/CMC blends increase, and the swelling also increases with increasing SA content. Moreover, SA/CMC blends have good mechanical and thermal properties, as well as antimicrobial activity. Microcapsules