Cyclodextrins Increase the Cytotoxicity of Curcumin Derivatives in Osteosarcoma Cell Culture

Cyclodextrins (CDs), a group of oligosaccharides formed by glucose units bound togetherin a ring, showed a promising ability to form supramolecular complexes with drug molecules and improved theirphysicochemical properties without any molecular modifications. On the other hand, a large number of synthetic curcumin derivatives showed promising anticancer results on malignant cell cultures in recent years. This study presents the advantages and limitations of CDs (potential enhancers of solubility and stability) when are used together with a series of curcumin complexes. All the CD-curcumin complex mixtures were tested as potential anticancer agents on a human osteosarcoma cell culture. A variant of beta-cyclodextrin (monochlorotriazinyl-β-cyclodextrin sodium salt) was found to exhibit the best results in terms of solubility and cytotoxicity enhancements. The results(expressed as inhibitory concentrations for 50 % cell viability - IC50) showed significant improvements for manganese and cooper curcumin complexes and had no effects for boron and thorium complexes.