Conjugation of curcumin with Ag nanoparticle for improving its bioavailability and study of the bioimaging response

We report here the production of curcumin conjugated polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-capped Ag nanoparticles for potential biological applications. Evidence for the efficient conjugation of hydrophobic curcumin to the synthesized nanoparticles (NPs) is expected from UV-Vis, zeta potential and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) analysis. Curcumin conjugated to PVP-capped Ag NPs is observed to gain high water solubility and bioavailability in a biological environment without diminishing its therapeutic properties. The presence of the main therapeutic group, the diarylheptanoid chromophore of curcumin, indicates the existence of its medicinal behavior in the curcumin-Ag NPs complex. Moreover, the fluorescence efficiency of PVP capped Ag NPs in the breast cancer cellular medium have been found to be significantly enhanced (by factor of $\sim$ 2.37) with curcumin conjugation. The production of bioavailable curcumin provides an opportunity to expand the clinical repertoire of this efficacious agent without hampering the environment and human health.