Substrate-dependent cell elasticity measured by optical tweezers indentation

In the last decade, cell elasticity has been widely investigated as a potential label free indicator for cellular alteration in different diseases, cancer included. Cell elasticity can be locally measured by pulling membrane tethers, stretching or indenting the cell using optical tweezers. In this paper, we propose a simple approach to perform cell indentation at pN forces by axially moving the cell against a trapped microbead. The elastic modulus is calculated using the Hertz-model. Besides the axial component, the setup also allows us to examine the lateral cell–bead interaction. This technique has been applied to measure the local elasticity of HBL-100 cells, an immortalized human cell line, originally derived from the milk of a woman with no evidence of breast cancer lesions. In addition, we have studied the influence of substrate stiffness on cell elasticity by performing experiments on cells cultured on two substrates, bare and collagen-coated, having different stiffness. The mean value of the cell elastic modulus measured during indentation was 26±9 Pa for the bare substrate, while for the collagen-coated substrate it diminished to 19±7 Pa. The same trend was obtained for the elastic modulus measured during the retraction of the cell: 23±10 Pa and 13±7 Pa, respectively. These results show the cells adapt their stiffness to that of the substrate and demonstrate the potential of this setup for low-force probing of modifications to cell mechanics induced by the surrounding environment (e.g. extracellular matrix or other cells).     

MR elastography of hepatocellular carcinoma: Correlation of tumor stiffness with histopathology features—Preliminary findings

PurposeTo determine if tumor stiffness by MR Elastography (MRE) is associated with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) pathologic features.Material and methodsA retrospective review was undertaken of all patients with pathologically confirmed HCC who underwent MRE prior to loco-regional therapy, surgical resection or transplant between 1/1/2007 to 12/31/2015. An independent observer measured tumor stiffness (kilopascals, kPa) by drawing regions of interest (ROI) covering the HCC and in the case of HCCs with non-enhancing/necrotic components, only the solid portion was included in the ROI. HCC tumor grade (WHO criteria), vascular invasion and tumor encapsulation were assessed from retrievable pathology specimens by an expert hepatobiliary pathologist. Tumor stiffness was compared by tumor grade, size, presence of capsule and vascular invasion using Student's t-test (or Exact Mann-Whitney test).Results21 patients were identified who had pathologically confirmed HCCs and tumor MRE data. 17 patients (81.0%) had underlying chronic liver disease. The mean ± SD tumor size (cm) was 5.3 ± 3.9 cm. The mean ± SD tumor stiffness was 5.9 ± 1.4 kPa. Tumors were graded as well differentiated (N = 2), moderately differentiated (N = 11) and poorly differentiated (N = 8). There was a trend toward increased tumor stiffness in well/moderately differentiated HCCs (6.5 ± 1.2 kPa; N = 13) compared to poorly differentiated HCCs (4.9 ± 1.2 kPa; N = 8) (p < 0.01). There was no significant correlation between tumor stiffness and liver stiffness or tumor size. There was no significant difference in tumor stiffness by presence or etiology of chronic liver disease, vascular invasion or tumor encapsulation.ConclusionPreliminary data suggest that tumor stiffness by MRE may be able to differentiate HCC tumor grade.     

Large magnetoresistance in Ni1–xVxS

Large magnetoresistance (MR) was observed in Ni_1−x V_xS(x=0, 0.02, 0.04, 0.06 and 0.08), MR=1530% at 268 K for x=0, MR=1180% at 255 K for x=0.02, MR=980% at 248 K for x=0.04, MR=810% at 224 K for x=0.06 and MR=490% at 198 K for x=0.08 in magnetic field 4 T. The large MR is due to magnetic field-induced magnetic and electrical transition from antiferromagnetic (AFM) nonmetal phase to paramagnetic (PM) metal phase.     

Left-ventricular mechanics in children with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. CMR study

ObjectivesTo assess the magnitude of myocardial displacement abnormalities and their alterations with the fibrosis, left-ventricular (LV) outflow tract obstruction (LVOTO) and hypertrophy in juveniles with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).Study design.Fifty-five children [age 12,5 ± 4.6 years, 38 (69,1%) males, 19 (34,5%) with LVOTO] with HCM and 20 controls underwent cardiovascular magnetic resonance. The LV feature tracking (FT) derived strain and strain rates were quantified. Results of FT analysis were compared between HCM subjects and controls and between children with and without LVOTO.ResultsChildren with HCM exhibited decreased strain in both hypertrophied and nonhypertrophied segments versus controls. LV global longitudinal strain (LVGLS) rate (− 0.69 ± 0.04 vs − 0.91 ± 0.05, p = 0,04), LV circumferential strain (LVCR) rate (− 0.98 ± 0.09 vs − 1.27 ± 0.06, p = 0,02), LV radial strain (LVR) (18,5 ± 1.9 vs 27,4 ± 1.4, p < 0,01) and LVR rate (0,98 ± 0.1 vs 1,53 ± 0.08, p < 0,01) were substantially compromised in subjects with LVOTO vs without. In multivariable regression all LV myocardial dynamics markers, except for LVCR, exhibited a significant association with the degree of LVOTO. LVCR rate (β = 0,31, p = 0,02) and LVR (β = − 0.24, p = 0,04) were related to LV mass and only LVCR rate (β = 0,15, p = 0,03) was associated with the amount of LV fibrosis.ConclusionsThe reduction of all indices of LV myocardial mechanics in juvenile HCM patients was global but particularly pronounced in hypertrophied segments of the LV. The majority of the LV strains and strain rates were substantially compromised in subjects with LVOTO compared to patients without the obstruction. Myocardial mechanics indices seemed to be related to the degree of LVOTO rather than either to mass or the amount of fibrosis.     

Temperature effects on the ultrasonic separation of fat from natural whole milk

This study showed that temperature influences the rate of separation of fat from natural whole milk during application of ultrasonic standing waves. In this study, natural whole milk was sonicated at 600 kHz (583 W/L) or 1 MHz (311 W/L) with a starting bulk temperature of 5, 25, or 40 °C. Comparisons on separation efficiency were performed with and without sonication. Sonication using 1 MHz for 5 min at 25 °C was shown to be more effective for fat separation than the other conditions tested with and without ultrasound, resulting in a relative change from 3.5 ± 0.06% (w/v) fat initially, of −52.3 ± 2.3% (reduction to 1.6 ± 0.07% (w/v) fat) in the skimmed milk layer and 184.8 ± 33.2% (increase to 9.9 ± 1.0% (w/v) fat) in the top layer, at an average skimming rate of ∼5 g fat/min. A shift in the volume weighted mean diameter (D[4,3]) of the milk samples obtained from the top and bottom of between 8% and 10% relative to an initial sample D[4,3] value of 4.5 ± 0.06 μm was also achieved under these conditions. In general, faster fat separation was seen in natural milk when natural creaming occurred at room temperature and this separation trend was enhanced after the application of high frequency ultrasound.     

A novel approach to quantitative ultrasonic naked gene delivery and its non-invasive assessment

The purpose of this study was to investigate practical, safe, easy-to-use, non-cytotoxic, and reliable parameters to apply to an ultrasound (US) naked gene therapy system. The ultrasound pressure at the point of cell exposure was measured using a calibrated hydrophone and the intensity calculated. An acoustic power meter calibrated using a hydrophone was used to measure the power of the transducer. Four cell types were exposed to US with different exposure times and intensities. Fluorescent microscopy, spectrophotometry, scanning electron microscope, laser scanning confocal microscopy, flow cytometry and histogram analysis were used to evaluate the results of the study. The plasmid of green fluorescent protein (GFP) served as the reporter gene. The energy accumulation E in US gene delivery for 90% cell survival was defined as the optimal parameters (E = 3.56 ± 0.06), and at 80% cell survival was defined as the damage threshold (E = 59.67 ± 3.54). US safely delivered GFP into S180 cells (35.1 kHz) at these optimal parameters without obvious damage or cytotoxity in vitro. Exposed cell function was proved normal in vivo. The transfection rate was 35.83 ± 2.53% (n = 6) in viable cells, corresponding to 90.17 ± 1.47% (n = 6) cell viability. The intensity of GFP expression showed a higher fluorescent peak in the group of adeno-associated virus GFP vector (AVV-GFP) than in the control group (P < 0.001). The effect of US gene delivery and cell viability correlated as a fifth order polynomial with US intensity and exposure time. With optimal parameters, US can safely deliver naked a gene into a cell without damage to cell function. Both optimal uptake and expression of gene depend on the energy E at 90% cell survival. E can be applied as a control factor for bioeffects when combined with other parameters. Stable caviation results in optimal parameters for gene delivery and the transient caviation may cause cell damage, which will bring about a sharp rise of permeabilization. The results may be applied to the development of a novel clinical gene therapeutic system.     

Quantitative local structure determination of R,R-tartaric acid on Cu(110): Monotartrate and bitartrate phases

The local adsorption site of the monotartrate and bitartrate species of R,R-tartaric acid deposited on Cu(110) have been determined by scanned-energy mode photoelectron diffraction (PhD). In the monotartrate phase the molecule is found to adsorb upright through the O atoms of the single deprotonated carboxylic acid (carboxylate) group, which are located in different off-atop sites with associated Cu―O bond lengths of 1.92 ± 0.08 Å and 1.93 ± 0.06 Å; the plane of the carboxylate group is tilted by 17 ± 6° off the surface normal. The bitartrate species adopts a ‘lying down’ orientation, bonding to the surface through all four O atoms of the two carboxylate groups, also in off-atop sites. Three slightly different models give comparably good fits to the PhD data, but only one of these is similar to that predicted by earlier density functional theory calculations. This model is found to have Cu―O bond lengths of 1.93 ± 0.08 Å and 1.95 ± 0.08 Å, while the planes of the carboxylate groups are tilted by 38 ± 6° from the surface normal.     

Ultrasonically tailored,chemically engineered and “QbD” enabled fabrication of agomelatine nanoemulsion; optimization,characterization, ex-vivo permeation and stability study

The objective of present study was to develop a nanoemulsion formulation of agomelatine (BCS class II drug) for the solubility enhancement. Capmul MCM, Tween 80 and PEG-400 were selected as oil, surfactant and co-surfactant respectively. The high energy ultrasonication method was used for the preparation of nanoemulsion. Three-factor three-level central composite design was employed to get the best formulation. The independent variables selected for the optimization were % oil, %S_mix and sonication time (second). Based on the constraints applied to independent and dependent variables, the optimized formulation was selected with 2% oil, 10% S_mix and 45 s sonication time. The experimental values for dependent variables such as hydrodynamic diameter (nm), % transmittance and % CDR were found to be 73.72 ± 2.53 nm, 98.2 ± 0.42%, 84.71 ± 4.05% respectively. TEM and AFM−assisted morphological characterization of optimized Ago-NE was done and it was found with a spherical shape. The PDI, Zeta potential and the refractive index of optimized Ago-NE were found to be 0.137 ± 0.016, −7.40 ± 0.12 mV and 1.423 ± 0.045 respectively. The viscosity, pH and drug content of optimized Ago-NE were found as 25.12 ± 0.67 cP, 6.4 ± 0.17 and 97.83 ± 1.03% respectively. The ex-vivo permeation profile of optimized Ago-NE and agomelatine suspension through goat nasal mucosa were compared till 12 h and % cumulative drug permeated was found to be 90% and 40% respectively. The higher drug permeation profile of optimized Ago-NE confirmed that the solubility of agomelatine has been improved.     

Cardiac magnetic resonance tissue tracking in right ventricle: Feasibility and normal values

PurposeTo investigate right ventricular (RV) strain in patients without identified cardiac pathology using cardiac magnetic resonance tissue tracking (CMR TT).MethodsA total of 50 consecutive patients with no identified cardiac pathology were analyzed. RV longitudinal and circumferential strain was assessed by CMR TT. The age range was 4–81 years with a median of 32 years (interquartile range, 15 to 56 years).ResultsAnalysis time per patient was < 5 min. The peak longitudinal strain (E_ll) was − 22.11 ± 3.51%. The peak circumferential strains (E_cc) for global, basal, mid-cavity and apical segments were as follows: − 11.69 ± 2.25%, − 11.00 ± 2.45%, − 11.17 ± 3.36%, − 12.90 ± 3.34%. There were significant gender differences in peak E_cc at the base (P = 0.04) and the mid-cavity (P = 0.03) with greater deformation in females than in males. On Bland-Altman analysis, peak E_ll (mean bias, 0.22 ± 1.67; 95% CI − 3.05 to 3.49) and mid-cavity E_cc (mean bias, 0.036 ± 1.75; 95% CI, − 3.39 to 3.47) had the best intra-observer agreement and inter-observer agreement, respectively.ConclusionsRV longitudinal and circumferential strains can be quickly assessed with good intra-observer and inter-observer variability using TT.     

Water and lipid diffusion MRI using chemical shift displacement-based separation of lipid tissue (SPLIT)

PurposeTo obtain water and lipid diffusion-weighted images (DWIs) simultaneously, we devised a novel method utilizing chemical shift displacement-based separation of lipid tissue (SPLIT) imaging.Materials and methodsSingle-shot diffusion echo-planar imaging without fat suppression was used and the imaging parameters were optimized to separate water and lipid DWIs by chemical shift displacement of the lipid signals along the phase-encoding direction. Using the optimized conditions, transverse DWIs at the maximum diameter of the right calf were scanned with multiple b-values in five healthy subjects. Then, apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) were calculated in the tibialis anterior muscle (TA), tibialis bone marrow (TB), and subcutaneous fat (SF), as well as restricted and perfusion-related diffusion coefficients (D and D*, respectively) and the fraction of the perfusion-related diffusion component (F) for TA.ResultsWater and lipid DWIs were separated adequately. The mean ADCs of the TA, TB, and SF were 1.56 ± 0.03 mm²/s, 0.01 ± 0.01 mm²/s, and 0.06 ± 0.02 mm²/s, respectively. The mean D*, D, and F of the TA were 13.7 ± 4.3 mm²/s, 1.48 ± 0.05 mm²/s, and 4.3 ± 1.6%, respectively.ConclusionSPLIT imaging makes it possible to simply and simultaneously obtain water and lipid DWIs without special pulse sequence and increases the amount of diffusion information of water and lipid tissue.     

Fabry–Pérot cavities based on chemical etching for high temperature and strain measurement

In this paper, two hybrid multimode/single mode fiber Fabry–Pérot (FP) cavities were compared. The cavities fabricated by chemical etching are presented as high temperature and strain sensors. In order to produce this FP cavity a single mode fiber was spliced to a graded index multimode fiber with 62.5 μm core diameter. The Fabry–Pérot cavities were tested as a high temperature sensor in the range between room temperature and 700 °C and as strain sensors. A reversible shift of the interferometric peaks with temperature allowed to estimate a sensitivity of 0.75 ± 0.03 pm/°C and 0.98 ± 0.04 pm/°C for the sensor A and B respectively. For strain measurement sensor A demonstrated a sensitivity of 1.85 ± 0.07 pm/μ? and sensor B showed a sensitivity of 3.14 ± 0.05 pm/μ?. The sensors demonstrated the feasibility of low cost fiber optic sensors for high temperature and strain.     

Targeted microbubbles for ultrasound mediated gene transfection and apoptosis induction in ovarian cancer cells

Ultrasound-targeted microbubble destruction (UTMD) technique can be potentially used for non-viral delivery of gene therapy. Targeting wild-type p53 (wtp53) tumor suppressor gene may provide a clinically promising treatment for patients with ovarian cancer. However, UTMD mediated gene therapy typically uses non-targeted microbubbles with suboptimal gene transfection efficiency. We synthesized a targeted microbubble agent for UTMD mediated wtp53 gene therapy in ovarian cancer cells. Lipid microbubbles were conjugated with a Luteinizing Hormone–Releasing Hormone analog (LHRHa) via an avidin–biotin linkage to target the ovarian cancer A2780/DDP cells that express LHRH receptors. The microbubbles were mixed with the pEGFP-N1-wtp53 plasmid. Upon exposure to 1 MHz pulsed ultrasound beam (0.5 W/cm²) for 30 s, the wtp53 gene was transfected to the ovarian cancer cells. The transfection efficiency was (43.90 ± 6.19)%. The expression of wtp53 mRNA after transfection was (97.08 ± 12.18)%. The cell apoptosis rate after gene therapy was (39.67 ± 5.95)%. In comparison with the other treatment groups, ultrasound mediation of targeted microbubbles yielded higher transfection efficiency and higher cell apoptosis rate (p < 0.05). Our experiment verifies the hypothesis that ultrasound mediation of targeted microbubbles will enhance the gene transfection efficiency in ovarian cancer cells.     

Atomic structure of Cs grown on Si(0 0 1)(2×1) surface by coaxial impact collision ion scattering spectroscopy

The atomic structure and the saturation coverage of Cs on the Si(0 0 1)(2×1) surface at room temperature have been studied by coaxial impact collision ion scattering spectroscopy (CAICISS). For the atomic structure of saturated Cs/Si(0 0 1)(2×1) surface, it is found that Cs atoms occupy a single adsorption site at T3 on the Si(0 0 1) surface. The height of Cs atoms adsorbed at T3 site is 3.18±0.05 Å from the second layer of Si(0 0 1)(2×1) surface. The saturation coverage estimated from the measured CAICISS intensity ratio and the proposed atomic structure is found to be 0.46±0.06 ML.     

Ag on Mo(110) studied by AES and STM

Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) have been used to investigate the growth behaviour of ultra-thin Ag films on a Mo(110) surface at room temperature. An analysis of AES and STM measurements indicates that three-dimensional (3D) growth of a Ag film is observed. For submonolayer coverage, the growth of Ag is mediated by a two-dimensional step-flow mechanism. During the initial stage of this growth, the first Ag layer nucleates and creates islands (average size of islands is about 180 ± 20 nm²) at Mo step edges. In the monolayer coverage range, the decoration of substrate steps by Ag can be distinguished by the presence of a fractional step of p₁ = 0.86 ± 0.6 Å height at the Ag–Mo boundary. As the sample is post-annealed to 700 K, the morphology of the surface changes. Step-flow growth in this case gives rise to a regular Ag nanostripe network attached to Mo(110) step edges. The corrugation profiles reveal the protrusion of silver nanostripes of thicknesses p₁ = 0.98 ± 0.16 Å and p₂ = 0.39 ± 0.06 Å for submonolayer and monolayer coverage ranges, respectively, above each single step of a Mo terrace morphology.     

Scaling behavior of polished (1 1 0) single-crystal nickel surfaces

The kinetic surface roughening of the polished (1 1 0) plane of a single-crystal nickel is investigated using atomic force microscopy. The polished (1 1 0) surfaces exhibit the scaling behavior characterized by the roughness exponent α=0.83±0.05, the growth exponent β=0.83±0.07 and the skewness=−0.52±0.06, whose values are compared with the theoretical values in statistical growth models in deposition. These characteristics indicate that the scaling behavior of the polished nickel surfaces can be related to a statistical growth model of nonlinear diffusion dynamics in deposition.     

Ultrasound-mediated destruction of oxygen and paclitaxel loaded lipid microbubbles for combination therapy in hypoxic ovarian cancer cells

We synthesized oxygen and paclitaxel (PTX) loaded lipid microbubbles (OPLMBs) for ultrasound mediated combination therapy in hypoxic ovarian cancer cells. Our experiments successfully demonstrated that ultrasound induced OPLMBs destruction significantly enhanced the local oxygen release. We also demonstrated that OPLMBs in combination with ultrasound (300 kHz, 0.5 W/cm², 15 s) yielded anti-proliferative activities of 52.8 ± 2.75% and cell apoptosis ratio of 35.25 ± 0.17% in hypoxic cells at 24 h after the treatment, superior to other treatment groups such as PTX only and PTX-loaded MBs (PLMBs) with or without ultrasound mediation. RT-PCR and Western blot tests further confirmed the reduced expression of HIF-1α and MDR-1/P-gp after ultrasound mediation of OPLMBs. Our experiment suggests that ultrasound mediation of oxygen and drug-loaded MBs may be a useful method to overcome chemoresistance in the hypoxic ovarian cancer cells.     

Modeling and deformation analyzing of InSb focal plane arrays detector under thermal shock

A higher fracture probability appearing in indium antimonide (InSb) infrared focal plane arrays (IRFPAs) subjected to the thermal shock test, restricts its final yield. In light of the proposed equivalent method, where a 32 × 32 array is employed to replace the real 128 × 128 array, a three-dimensional modeling of InSb IRFPAs is developed to explore its deformation rules. To research the damage degree to the mechanical properties of InSb chip from the back surface thinning process, the elastic modulus of InSb chip along the normal direction is lessened. Simulation results show when the out-of-plane elastic modulus of InSb chip is set with 30% of its Young’s modulus, the simulated Z-components of strain distribution agrees well with the top surface deformation features in 128 × 128 InSb IRFPAs fracture photographs, especially with the crack origination sites, the crack distribution and the global square checkerboard buckling pattern. Thus the Z-components of strain are selected to explore the deformation rules in the layered structure of InSb IRFPAs. Analyzing results show the top surface deformation of InSb IRFPAs originates from the thermal mismatch between the silicon readout integrated circuits (ROIC) and the intermediate layer above, made up of the alternating indium bump array and the reticular underfill. After passing through both the intermediate layer and the InSb chip, the deformation amplitude is reduced firstly from 2.23 μm to 0.24 μm, finally to 0.09 μm. Finally, von Mises stress criterion is employed to explain the causes that cracks always appear in the InSb chip.     

Physiochemical and cytotoxicity study of TPGS stabilized nanoemulsion designed by ultrasonication method

The main aim of the present work was to prepare TPGS stabilized D-α-Tocopherol, lemon oil, tween-80, and water nanoemulsion by low cost and highly effective sonication method. The prepared nanoemulsion showed good stability for 60 days at variable temperature conditions i.e. 4, 25 and 37 °C. The tolerance of the prepared nanoemulsion to salt (50 mM–500 mM) and pH (pH 2–pH 7.4) was also studied. The morphology and droplet size of pure and quinine loaded nanoemulsion was characterized with transmission electron microscopy. The prepared formulation was transparent and the obtained average particle size ranged between 25 nm and 35 nm. The nanoemulsion was found to be non toxic. The cell viability study of pure nanoemulsion carried out on Hep G2 cells revealed that the cell viability was 100%. The formulation further exhibited high quinine loading and release capacity with cumulative release up to 76 ± 2% and 65 ± 2% at pH 7.4 and pH 5.5 respectively. The interaction between quinine and vitamins (riboflavin, thiamine and biotin) was also carried out (aqueous medium). The study revealed that riboflavin had strong interaction with quinine and vitamins vis-à-vis thiamine and biotin.     

Structure relates to elastic recoil and functional role in quadriceps tendon and patellar ligament

Tendons and ligaments have similar but slightly different structure and composition. Crimps of tendons and ligaments are morphological structures related to the elastic functional properties of these connective tissues. Aim of this study was to investigate the morphological arrangement of collagen fibres, fibrils and crimping pattern of suprapatellar (rectus femoris tendon-RFT and vastus intermedius tendon-VIT) and infrapatellar connective tissues (patellar ligament-PL) to relate their structural aspects to their common function role of leg extension. RFT, VIT and PL were removed from knees of Sprague–Dawley rats and light and electron microscopy (TEM and SEM) performed. Sagittal sections showed that collagen array and crimping pattern were similar in RFT and PL but differed from VIT. Morphometric analysis confirmed that crimp number was about the same in RFT and PL (5.4 ± 1.4 and 6.1 ± 2.8 respectively), but it was almost three times higher in VIT (14.5 ± 4.7). Similarly crimp top angle in RFT and PL (141.5 ± 15.0° and 146.2 ± 12.2° respectively) was significantly higher than in VIT (122.3 ± 14.8°) and the crimp base length was more than twice as wide in RFT (75.5 ± 22.6 μm) and PL (72.3 ± 28.9 μm) than in VIT (36 ± 14.1 μm). The smaller, fewer and most crimped crimps in VIT show that this tendon has a greater elastic recoil and responds to higher forces as among quadriceps muscles the vastus intermedius belly contributes the most during knee extension. By contrast, RFT acting as a “stopper” tendon also plays a ligament role by limiting an excessive flexion of the joint during postural rest position of the knee.     

Fabrication of polymeric nanocapsules from curcumin-loaded nanoemulsion templates by self-assembly

In this study, biodegradable polymeric nanocapsules were prepared by sequential deposition of food-grade polyelectrolytes through the self-assembling process onto the oil (medium chain triglycerides) droplets enriched with curcumin (lipophilic bioactive compound). Optimum conditions were used to prepare ultrasound-assisted nanoemulsions stabilized by octenyl-succinic-anhydride (OSA)-modified starch. Negatively charged droplets (−39.4 ± 1.84 mV) of these nanoemulsions, having a diameter of 142.7 ± 0.85 nm were used as templates for the fabrication of nanocapsules. Concentrations of layer-forming cationic (chitosan) and anionic (carboxymethylcellulose) biopolymers were optimized based on the mean droplet/particle diameter (MDD/MPD), polydispersity index (PDI) and net charge on the droplets/capsules. Prepared core–shell structures or nanocapsules, having MPD of 159.85 ± 0.92 nm, were characterized by laser diffraction (DLS), ζ-potential (ZP), atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). Furthermore, physical stability of curcumin-loaded nanocapsules in suspension was determined and compared at different storage temperatures. This study may provide information regarding the formation of ultrasound-assisted polymeric nanocapsules from the nanoemulsion templates which could be helpful in the development of delivery systems for lipophilic food bioactives.