Characterization of green synthesized flaxseed zinc oxide nanoparticles and their cytotoxic, apoptotic and antimigratory activities on aggressive human cancer cells

Abstract

This study was done of green synthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) by using flaxseed extract (Linum usitatissimum L.) and investigated their potential anticancer effects. The ZnO NPs were characterized by UV–Vis, SEM/EDS, and XRD techniques. These analyses showed that these NPs were spherically shaped with a 23–55 nm size range. The cytotoxicity of NPs was confirmed by MTT assay against A549, HT29, and MDA-MB-231 cancer cells, indicating their antiproliferative effect (IC50 values: 68.3, 66.3, and 58.8 μg/mL, respectively). The apoptotic induction was analyzed by ELISA, and the results showed that the NPs induced apoptosis through caspase-3/9 activation but not by caspase-8. These NPs significantly trigger the intrinsic-apoptotic pathway. Moreover, they exhibited strong antimigratory properties on the lowly metastatic HT29 and the highly metastatic A549 and MDA-MB-231 cells. This is the first report of Linum usitatissimum L-mediated synthesis of ZnO NPs that could be considered as potential antineoplastic agents.