{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T04:59:42Z","timestamp":1785387582114,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"Oxford University Press (OUP)","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,1]],"date-time":"2026-07-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782864000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/pages\/standard-publication-reuse-rights"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,3]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objectives<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Curcumin has potent anti-inflammatory and anticancer effects, but its clinical use is limited by poor bioavailability. Here, we developed folic acid-functionalized PEGylated magnetite nanoparticles (Fe\u2083O\u2084-PEG-FA-Curc) to improve targeted curcumin delivery in inflammatory and cancer conditions.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The biodistribution, targeting efficiency, and safety of Fe\u2083O\u2084-PEG-FA-Curc nanoparticles were evaluated in LPS-treated mice, while their anticancer effects were assessed in MCF-7 and A549 cells through apoptosis, cell cycle, and DNA fragmentation analyses.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Key findings<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>In vivo biodistribution of curcumin and Prussian blue staining demonstrated enhanced accumulation of FA-targeted nanoparticles in inflamed lungs of LPS-treated mice versus non-targeted nanoparticles (~2.6-fold and\u2009~\u20091.5-fold increases, respectively), correlating with elevated folate receptor \u03b2 (folate receptor [FR]-\u03b2; FOLR2) expression (~2.8-fold) in lung homogenates. This targeted localization was associated with improved plasma retention and hemocompatibility, confirmed by in vitro and in vivo safety assessments. In vitro, FA-targeted curcumin nanoparticles induced apoptosis in FR-positive MCF-7 cells by increasing Bax (~2-fold), decreasing Bcl-2 (~2-fold), promoting G0\/G1 arrest, and enhancing DNA fragmentation (~1.6-fold), with minimal effects in FR-negative A549 cells.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>FA-decorated PEGylated magnetite nanoparticles enable selective, biocompatible delivery of hydrophobic compounds like curcumin to FR-overexpressing tumors and inflamed tissues. This platform shows strong potential for precision nanotherapy in inflammatory and cancer diseases.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1093\/jpp\/rgag073","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,8]],"date-time":"2026-07-08T20:22:53Z","timestamp":1783542173000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Folic acid-functionalized PEGylated magnetic nanocarriers for targeted delivery of curcumin to inflamed tissues"],"prefix":"10.1093","volume":"78","author":[{"given":"Maria","family":"Anghelache","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"\u201cMedical and Pharmaceutical Bionanotechnologies\u201d Department, Institute of Cellular Biology and Pathology \u201cNicolae Simionescu\u201d of the Romanian Academy , Bucharest 050568 ,","place":["Romania"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Geanina","family":"Voicu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"\u201cMedical and Pharmaceutical Bionanotechnologies\u201d Department, Institute of Cellular Biology and Pathology \u201cNicolae Simionescu\u201d of the Romanian Academy , Bucharest 050568 ,","place":["Romania"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Florentina","family":"Safciuc","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"\u201cMedical and Pharmaceutical Bionanotechnologies\u201d Department, Institute of Cellular Biology and Pathology \u201cNicolae Simionescu\u201d of the Romanian Academy , Bucharest 050568 ,","place":["Romania"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mihaela","family":"Turtoi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"\u201cMedical and Pharmaceutical Bionanotechnologies\u201d Department, Institute of Cellular Biology and Pathology \u201cNicolae Simionescu\u201d of the Romanian Academy , Bucharest 050568 ,","place":["Romania"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mariana","family":"Deleanu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Liquid and Gas Chromatography Laboratory, Institute of Cellular Biology and Pathology \u201cNicolae Simionescu\u201d of the Romanian Academy , Bucharest 050568 ,","place":["Romania"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Codina","family":"Movileanu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Science and Engineering of Oxide Materials and Nanomaterials, Faculty of Applied Chemistry and Materials Science, National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest , 1-7 Gh Polizu Street, Bucharest 011061 ,","place":["Romania"]},{"name":"National Centre for Micro and Nanomaterials and National Centre for Food Safety, Faculty of Applied Chemistry and Materials Science, National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest , Spl. Indendentei 313, Bucharest 060042 ,","place":["Romania"]},{"name":"\u201dIlie Murgulescu\u201d Institute of Physical Chemistry, Romanian Academy , 202 Spl. Independentei, Bucharest 060021 ,","place":["Romania"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Denisa","family":"Ficai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Centre for Micro and Nanomaterials and National Centre for Food Safety, Faculty of Applied Chemistry and Materials Science, National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest , Spl. Indendentei 313, Bucharest 060042 ,","place":["Romania"]},{"name":"Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry, Faculty of Applied Chemistry and Materials Science, National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest , 1-7 Gh Polizu Street, Bucharest 050054 ,","place":["Romania"]},{"name":"Academy of Romanian Scientists , 3 Ilfov Street, Bucharest 050045 ,","place":["Romania"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anton","family":"Ficai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Science and Engineering of Oxide Materials and Nanomaterials, Faculty of Applied Chemistry and Materials Science, National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest , 1-7 Gh Polizu Street, Bucharest 011061 ,","place":["Romania"]},{"name":"National Centre for Micro and Nanomaterials and National Centre for Food Safety, Faculty of Applied Chemistry and Materials Science, National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest , Spl. 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