Blood Brain barrier (BBB) is a natural protective wall in the brain to restrict the invasion of xenobiotics or toxic chemicals. This, in turn, becomes a major obstacle for researchers and industry people in formulating new drugs to treat brain disorders like brain tumors, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, meningitis, and so on. The purpose of this research is to study the in-vitro cytotoxicity & BBB permeation of curcumin-loaded phycocyanin nanosponges (Cur-PC NS) using Madin-Darby

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... Kidney (MDCK) cell lines. Cell viability of Cur-PC NS was performed using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2.5- diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, the transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) values, and permeability coefficient were measured to test the integrity of monolayer of MDCK cell line. Results of the current study showed that Cur-PC NS at 50µM, 85% of MDCK cells are more viable and there was a significant (p<0.01) reduction in TEER values up to 48 hours when compared to the curcumin. The permeability coefficient of nanosponges produced a 2.5-fold increase in enhancement ratio with a Papp value of 1.94±0.11×10-6 cm/s and 4.86±0.04×10-6cm/s for curcumin and Cur-PC NS respectively. Results of the study can be concluded that phycocyanin nanosponges can be used as a carrier for curcumin to permeate the BBB which may play a major role in the treatment of various brain disorders. Future studies are needed to substantiate the exact mechanism of permeability with clarification of efflux transporters presented in BBB.