Issue 29, 2023

Aggregation patterns of curcumin and piperine mixtures in different polar media

Abstract

This work reports a thorough molecular dynamics investigation on the aggregation patterns of curcumin and piperine in water, ethanol and a mixture of both solvents. The low solubility of curcumin in water results in a rapid formation of very stable dimers for both keto and enol tautomers. In agreement with a higher solubility, piperine molecules move closer and farther apart several times during the simulation, which indicates the formation of a less stable dimer in water. In contrast, both curcumin and piperine are soluble in ethanol and, thus, dimers can hardly be formed in this media. In comparison with a pure-water solvent, a 30 : 70 mixture of ethanol and water significantly reduces the probability of formation of most dimers of curcumin and piperine molecules. The simulations show that larger clusters may be complex structures, but the formation of stacks (in the case of piperine and enol tautomer of curcumin) and cages (when the keto tautomer of curcumin is involved) are not rare. Furthermore, it is shown that each single molecule presents a certain degree of mobility in the cluster, especially on the surface, but without leading to dissociation.

Graphical abstract: Aggregation patterns of curcumin and piperine mixtures in different polar media

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
07 Jan 2023
Accepted
08 Jul 2023
First published
11 Jul 2023
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2023,25, 19899-19910

Aggregation patterns of curcumin and piperine mixtures in different polar media

J. R. C. Santos, P. E. Abreu and J. M. C. Marques, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2023, 25, 19899 DOI: 10.1039/D3CP00096F

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