Curcumin, a derivative of Curcuma longa L., is used extensively in the food industry and researches have shown the health
benefits of this compound [1]. In this work, a novel, simple and rapid method for
extraction and determination of curcumin in turmeric was performed using magnetic
iron oxide nanopaticles (MIONs) as solid phase extractor and HPLC. The unique properties
of nanoscale materials offer excellent prospects for designing new methods and instrumentation
for chemical analysis [2]. The MIONs were synthesized according to the method proposed
by Laurent et al. [3]. The average size of nanoparticles was in the range of 90nm
which was determined by using atomic force microscopy (AFM) (Fig.1). Extraction of
curcumin is based on adsorptionof Fe (3+)-curcumin complex on MIONs. Desorption of
analyte was performed by NaOH solution containing methanol in order to dissolve the
desorbed analyte. Various parameters affecting the extraction recovery such as: pH,
volume and concentration of NaOH as desorbing reagent, and concentration of Fe (+3)
and percentage of methanol were investigated and optimized. These optimized parameters
were: pH=2.0, 1.5 mL of 0.2M NaOH containing 30% methanol and 0.1M of Fe (3+), respectively.
The intra-day precision (R.S.D.) was 4.0% and inter-day R.S.D. was less than 7.0%.
The preconcentration factor of 100 was achieved in this method. The proposed procedure
has been successfully applied to the determination of curcumin in turmeric.
Figure 1: size distribution of MIONs determined by AFM
Keywords: Curcumin, turmeric, Magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles, Solid phase extraction, Determination,
HPLC
References: [1] Srivastava RM, Singh S, Dubey SK, Misra K, Khar A (2011) Inter Immunopharmacol,
11: 331–341
[2] Trojanwicz M. (2006) Trends Anal Chem 25: 480–489.
[3] Laurent S, Forge D, Port M, Roch A, Robic C, Elst LV, Muller RN (2008) Chem Rev
108: 2064–2110
