ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Fabrication of Fe₃O₄/SiO₂/curcumin nanohybrid composites as new antifibrotic agents

Ahmad Taufiq, Ainun Nikmah, ST. U. Intan Subadra, Arif Hidayat, Sunaryono Sunaryono, Nurul Hidayat, Hendra Susanto, Erlina Yustanti, and Tahta Amrillah

Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Negeri Malang, Jawa Timur, Indonesia

E-mail: ahmad.taufiq.fmipa@um.ac.id

Received: 22 July 2023  Accepted: 13 February 2026

Abstract:

Liver fibrosis is one of the main threats to human health. To date, antifibrosis drugs encompass several problems, such as the limited treatment effects, lack of drug targeting, and toxic side effects. To increase therapeutic efficacy in targeting liver fibrosis, future studies should focus on developing nanocarriers and effective therapeutic strategies. In this study, Fe₃O₄/SiO₂/curcumin (Cur) nanohybrid composites have been successfully synthesized and used as antifibrotic agents. Structural studies using X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray, and transmission electron microscopy were carried out. The magnetic properties of the nanohybrid composites were evaluated using vibrating sample magnetometry. Furthermore, preclinical antibacterial and antifungal assays were performed. From these characterizations, the increasing SiO₂ composition in Fe₃O₄/SiO₂/Cur nanohybrid composites resulted in decreased crystallinity from 90.42% to 73.16% and increased crystallite size from 8.5 nm to 15.6 nm, which is associated with the formation of a SiO₂ shell on the Fe₃O₄ surface. EDX analysis showed that the elemental composition of the nanohybrid composites confirmed the presence of Fe, O, Si, and C, as the main constituents of Fe₃O₄, SiO₂, and Cur. As the SiO₂ composition increased, the nanohybrid composites exhibited superparamagnetic behavior with saturation magnetization decreased from 10.531 emu/g to 6.003 emu/g. The Fe₃O₄/SiO₂/Cur nanohybrid composites showed excellent inhibition of bacterial and fungal growth, with inhibition zone diameters of B. subtilis (7.00–13.10) mm, E. coli (4.30–6.00) mm, and C. albicans (13.20–20.30) mm. Interestingly, the Fe₃O₄/SiO₂/Cur nanohybrid composites significantly reduced serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels (p < 0.05). Therefore, the reduction suggests that the Fe₃O₄/SiO₂/Cur nanohybrid composites can reduce CCl₄-induced liver injury, which is closely linked to the mechanisms underlying antifibrotic agents.

Keywords: Fe3O4/SiO2/Cur; Nanohybrid composite; iron sand; antimicrobial activity; antifibrotic agent

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1007/s11696-026-04741-5

Chemical Papers 80 (6) 5963–5979 (2026)