Investigation of in vitro activities of Cu2ZnSnS4 nanoparticles in human non-small cell lung cancer

Abstract

Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared by a simple hydrothermal method, and their cytotoxic, antiproliferative and proapoptotic activities on human non-small cell lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells were investigated for the first time, and the morphological and ultrastructural changes of these cells were monitored. The structural characterizations of the synthesized nanoparticles were made by using Field Emission-Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM), X-Ray Powder Diffraction (XRD) and Raman techniques. Cytotoxicity and confocal microscopy studies revealed that the CZTS NPs effectively entered into the A549 cells in a dose-dependent not time-dependent manner over a period of 24 and 48 h. It was observed that the CZTS NPs had a negligible cytotoxic effect and considerable antiproliferative and proapoptotic activities. The low cytotoxicity of the CSTZ NPs and their potent anticancer activity against A549 cells highlight their potential to be used as anticancer agents. This study may pave the way for designing and constructing various morphologically diverse, nanotextured materials with desired functional attributes.