Evaluation of the effects of curcumin nanoliposomes on viability and motility of fibroblast cells and burn wound healing in mice: an in vivo and in vitro study

Curcumin (diferuloylmethane) is one of the mostactive components of turmeric. This herbal compound has antiinflammatoryand positive wound-healing impacts. The principalobjective of this study was to evaluate the impacts of curcuminnanoliposomes on cell viability and motility of mouse fibroblastNIH 3T3 cells and its wound healing effects on second-degreeskin burns in BALB/c mice. Mature male BALB/c mice (n = 48) were dividedinto 4 groups (n = 12 per group). Group one received curcuminnanoliposome ointment; the positive and negative control groups(groups 2&3) were treated with silver sulfadiazine and placebo,respectively, and group four (sham) received no treatment. Theburn wound was created by a metal device with a diameter of 1cm. Animals received treatment twice daily. On days 4, 7, 10, and14, deep anesthesia and a biopsy of the wound were performed,and a microscopic study and MTT assay were carried out. Cellular studies on mouse fibroblast NIH-3T3 cellsshowed that low-dose curcumin nanoliposomes increased cellproliferation and motility at 8, 12, and 24 hours in comparisonwith the control group. In tissue samples of mice treated withcurcumin nanoliposome (day 14), less inflammation was observed,while granulation tissue formation, fibroblast proliferation,epithelialization, and collagen fiber synthesis increased significantlycompared with the control groups. Our study indicates the positive effects of curcuminnanoliposomes on the motility process of mouse fibroblast NIH-3T3 cells (in vitro) and on the inflammatory and proliferativephases (in vivo) of burn wound healing in mice.