Date of Publication

7-21-2025

Document Type

Bachelor's Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry

Subject Categories

Biochemistry

College

College of Science

Department/Unit

Chemistry

Thesis Advisor

Rafael A. Espiritu

Defense Panel Member

Jose Paolo O. Bantang
Raymond S. Malabed

Abstract/Summary

Cancer is a dynamic and complex disease that has caused the death of millions and begs ever more intensive research. This study contributed to these efforts by synthesizing a novel type of nanocomplex, liprotides, from mung and soybean proteins with the objective of delivering curcumin to colorectal cancer cells. The proteins were extracted through alkaline and isoelectric precipitation methods, then separated into their albumin (mung albumin, MA, and soy albumin, SA) and globulin (mung globulin, MG, and soy globulin, SG) fractions, following quantification by the Bradford assay. These protein fractions were then mixed with oleic acid under mild heating conditions (80℃) to synthesize the target core-shell complexes: mung albumin liprotides (MAL), mung globulin liprotides (MGL), soy albumin liprotides (SAL), and soy globulin liprotides (SGL). Successful complexation was denoted by changes in the IR spectra and secondary structure distributions, increased denaturation temperatures, and apparent turbidity changes in each liprotide solution compared to its protein starting material. The complexes were then combined with curcumin to achieve encapsulation of the drug by spontaneous hydrophobic interactions, where MAL showed the highest encapsulation at 91% efficiency, followed by SAL at 65.09%, SGL at 60.60%, and MGL at 59.58%. Transmission electron micrographs of the curcumin-loaded MAL and SAL showed evidence of encapsulation by increased particle diameter and hyperpigmentation of the core structure. Finally, the cytotoxicity of each liprotide and its curcumin inclusion complexes against HT-29 colorectal adenocarcinoma cell line was investigated. The SGL treatment showed significant evidence of cytotoxic activity, resulting in cell viability reduction to 67.43 ± 1.01% alone, while upon the inclusion of curcumin, cell viability was further depleted to 61.33 ± 2.68% after 24 hours.

Abstract Format

html

Language

English

Format

Electronic

Keywords

Colon (Anatomy)—Cancer; Oleic acid; Curcumin; Drug delivery systems

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Embargo Period

8-10-2026

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Available for download on Monday, August 10, 2026

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