Abstract
Recent investigations indicated that cop- per oxide nanoparticles can selectively induce apop- tosis and effectively suppress the proliferation of tumor cells. Thus, it showed a great potential to be used as a drug for cancer treatment. Here we report an easy synthesis of spheroidal cuprous oxide nanopar- ticles (CuNPs) and their organic conjugate with L-tryptophan (Trp) using surfactant, sodium dodecyl sulfate as a capping reagent. The particles looked golden yellow and showed a strong affinity to bind blood carrier proteins such as bovine serum albumin and human serum albumin. However, both optical behavior and texture of the particles altered upon conjugation with Trp. The average size of the CuNPs was estimated to be *70 nm as appeared under transmission electron microscope or atomic force microscope. The biological conjugate with Trp was *85 nm and looked light sky blue in aqueous suspension. The surface of the conjugated nanoparti- cles was smoother than the bare CuNPs. The CuNPs were found to be toxic to different cultured cancerous cells; however, conjugation with Trp attenuated the toxicity, and indicated its possible utility in develop- ing a drug candidate for cancer in a controlled fashion. Reduced toxicity also indicated a possible use of the conjugated particle as a drug delivery system.
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