Potential use of curcumin loaded carboxymethylated guar gum grafted gelatin film for biomedical applications

Present study describes the synthesis of carboxylmethyl guar gum (CMGG) from the native guar gum (GG). Further, the prepared CMGG is grafted with gelatin to form CMGG-g-gelatin and then mixed with curcumin to prepare a biomaterial. The resultant biomaterial is subjected to the analysis of ¹H NMR, ATR-FTIR, TGA, SEM and XRD ensure the carboxymethylation and grafting. The results reveal that 45% of the amine groups of gelatin have been reacted with the COOH group of CMGG and 90-95% of curcumin is released from CMGG-g-gelatin after 96h of incubation in the phosphate buffer at physiological pH. In vitro cell line studies reveal the biocompatibility of the biomaterial and the antimicrobial studies display the growth inhibition against gram +ve and gram -ve organisms at a considerable level. Overall, the study indicates that the incorporation of curcumin into CMGG-g-gelatin can improve the functional property of guar gum as well as gelatin.