Fullerenes have an obvious affinity for free radicals and perform strong antioxidation ability, which can prevent oxidative damage to cells, protect cells from excitotoxicity in vitro, and delay apoptosis[1]. Recently, fullerenes have been utilized as highly cutting-edge ingredient to enhance the effectiveness of cosmetics in anti-wrinkle, whitening, and anti-aging applications[2, 3]. However, original fullerenes are extremely hydrophobic, resulting in low solubility and easy aggregation in aqueous systems[4], limiting their widespread application in the cosmetic field. So the surface modification of fullerenes has been attracting much interests from academic and industrial fields.
Currently, the water solubility of fullerenes is typically enhanced by modulating surface hydrophilicity. One method of surface modification involves utilizing the covalent interaction of hydrophilic macromolecules, such as cyclodextrins, cellulose, glucose, and phosphine-containing compounds, with the fullerene carbon cage[5–7]. This process enhances the hydrophilicity of fullerenes by introducing hydrophilic groups to the surface, which also gives fullerenes new functions such as optimizing nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, sensitizing photodynamics, and enabling cancer therapy[8–10]. Another approach to increase surface hydrophilicity is to utilize the porous structure of fullerenes to no-covalent adsorb some solubility modifiers[11, 12], such as amphiphilic polymers [13], polysaccharides[14], and peptides[15]. This method can be achieved by spontaneous contact of reactants under simple regulating external conditions, so preserve fullerenes with original carbon cage structure and related properties.
The surface modifications not only improve the hydrophilicity of fullerenes but endow them new functions for further applications in biomedicine, electrochemistry, and photocatalysis[16–20]. However, the compatibility functions aroused from surface modification have not been realized in cosmetics application of fullerenes yet [21], and even some original positive properties of fullerenes have been suppressed. Diana Dulić's researched on C60 derivatives, obtained by combining fullerene and curcumin through the Binger effect, and demonstrated the products with moderate antioxidant activity due to the active react-sites of fullerenes inhibited during modification process [22]. It has been reported that the antioxidative and moisturizing properties of fullerenes, which are related to the efficacy of cosmetic products, are suppressed when the carbon-carbon double bonds are covered by modifiers[23]. So, enhancing oxidation resistance accompanied by enhancing hydrophilicity is a constructive aim in surface modification research of fullerenes as a cosmetic raw material.
In this paper, curcumin was chosen as a surface modifier to facilitate a self-aggregating onto the surface of fullerene through solvent exchange under ultrasonic conditions. The Infrared Visible Spectrum (IR), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscope (SEM), and thermogravimetric analysis were used for analyzing the surface morphology and structure of the fullerenes-curcumin aggregate (C60/Cur), and then the relationship between aggregated ratio and the surface hydrophilicity was determined. Based on the dependence of free radical removal ability of C60/Cur on the aggregated ration, a molecular dynamics assisted mechanism analysis was implemented for clarifying the interaction between curcumin molecules and fullerene carbon cages under aggregating state. This study aimed at offering a theoretical foundation for the combination of fullerenes and polyphenols in batches, with potential applications in the field of cosmetics.