Fabrication and characterization of doxorubicin conjugated bimetallic gold and platinum nanoparticles for human cancer cells and its cell death mechanism

Abstract

An environmentally friendly preparation technique was used to explore the mechanism of action of hybrid hydrophilic bimetallic gold-platinum (Au@Pt-NPs) against human cancer cell lines, followed by conjugation with doxorubicin (DOX). The synthesized DOX-loaded Au@Pt-NPs (DOX/Au@Pt-NPs) were examined using transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and UV–vis spectroscopy to determine their physicochemical characteristics. Using a straightforward incubation method, phytochemicals-mediated capping efficiency and loading of DOX onto the Au@Pt-NPs surface (84%) was demonstrated by FT-IR spectroscopy. Studies on the release kinetics of DOX under acidic tumor conditions revealed a pH-regulated dependence response. According to the in vitro anticancer assessment, human cancer cells treated with DOX-loaded Au@Pt-NPs demonstrated a 3-fold increase in apoptosis compared to DOX treatment alone. Additionally, the DOX/Au@Pt-NPs nanocarrier demonstrated a time-dependent increase in phosphatidylserine flipping, an apoptosis induction marker, and a cell-specific reaction in HeLa and HepG2 cells, according to luminescent results from a real-time, bioluminescent recombinant annexin V test. According to the results, the manufacturing process is simple, and the hydrophilic Au@Pt-NPs were successful in DOX delivery and loading against human cancer cell lines, indicating their prospective as a supplementary for cervical and hepatocellular cancer therapy.