Green Synthesis of Gold, Iron and Selenium Nanoparticles Using Phytoconstituents: Preliminary Evaluation of Antioxidant and Biocompatibility Potential.

Abeer Jabra Shnoudeh,Abdulmutalleb Yousef Jaber,Hamzeh J Al-Ameer,Islam Hamad,Lana Qadumii,Malek Zihlif,Ruba Anwar Salou

doi:10.3390/molecules27041334

Abstract

This study aimed at fabricating gold (Au), iron (Fe) and selenium (Se) nanoparticles (NPs) using various natural plant extracts from the Fertile Crescent area and evaluating their potential application as antioxidant and biocompatible agents to be used in the pharmaceutical field, especially in drug delivery. The Au-NPs were synthesized using Ephedra alata and Pistacia lentiscus extracts, whereas the Fe-NPs and Se-NPs were synthesized using peel, fruit and seed extracts of Punica granatum. The phytofabricated NPs were characterized by the UV-visible spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDS) spectroscopy. Scanning electron microscope technique showed that the synthesized NPs surface was spherical, and the particle size analysis confirmed a particle size of 50 nm. The crystalline nature of the NPs was confirmed by the XRD analysis. All synthesized NPs were found to be biocompatible in the fibroblast and human erythroleukemic cell lines. Se-NPs showed a dose-dependent antitumor activity as evidenced from the experimental results with breast cancer (MCF-7) cells. A dose-dependent, free-radical scavenging effect of the Au-NPs and Se-NPs was observed in the DPPH (2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) assay, with the highest effect recorded for Au-NPs.

Highlights

Nanotechnology is considered among the most emerging branches of science during the last decade
There is some evidence available in the literature on the low toxic profile of the NPs synthesized through green synthesis [30,31]
The particle size of the Au-NPs obtained from the ZetaSizer were 39.16 ± 1.28 nm and 62.21 ± 3.42 nm, while the size was comparable for Fe-NPs (44.15 ± 2.76 nm) (Figure S1B) and Se-NPs (47.35 ± 1.23 nm) (Figure S1C) prepared using a Punica granatum extract

Summary

Introduction

Nanotechnology is considered among the most emerging branches of science during the last decade Research interest in this field, especially in the field of nanoparticles, NPs (particle sizes in the range of 1 to 100 nm) are gaining a high interest in this field. The use of phytomolecules-based synthesis of NPs is of great interest as this process is relatively easy, rapid and does not require a special reaction environment [16]. For this reason, to utilize the benefit of the phytochemicals, the extracts of Punica granatum (pomegranate) peel, seeds and fruits [17], ephedra [18] and pistachio leaves [19] were used in the synthesis process in this study

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion