Abstract
The current study investigated the anticancer properties of gold nanoparticles (SG-stabilized AuNPs) synthesized using water extracts of the brown seaweed Sargassum glaucescens (SG). SG-stabilized AuNPs were characterized by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, transmission and scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. The SG-stabilized AuNPs were stable and small at 3.65 ± 1.69 nm in size. The in vitro anticancer effect of SG-stabilized AuNPs was determined on cervical (HeLa), liver (HepG2), breast (MDA-MB-231) and leukemia (CEM-ss) cell lines using fluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry, caspase activity determination, and MTT assays. After 72 h treatment, SG-stabilized AuNPs was shown to be significant (p < 0.05) cytotoxic to the cancer cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. The IC50 values of SG-stabilized AuNPs on the HeLa, HepG2, CEM-ss, MDA-MB-231 cell lines were 4.75 ± 1.23, 7.14 ± 1.45, 10.32 ± 1.5, and 11.82 ± 0.9 μg/mL, respectively. On the other hand, SG-stabilized AuNPs showed no cytotoxic effect towards the normal human mammary epithelial cells (MCF-10A). SG-stabilized AuNPs significantly (p < 0.05) arrest HeLa cell cycle at G2/M phase and significantly (p < 0.05) activated caspases-3 and -9 activities. The anticancer effect of SG-stabilized AuNPs is via the intrinsic apoptotic pathway. The study showed that SG-stabilized AuNPs is a good candidate to be developed into a chemotherapeutic compound for the treatment of cancers especially cervical cancer.
Highlights
A report published in 2011 by the World Health Organization (WHO) placed cancer as the third leading cause of death, after heart disease and stroke, in most developed countries and the second leading cause of death, after heart disease, in Malaysia [1]
Seaweed powder can be followed by the color change
Most chemotherapeutic used in the treatment of cancers are plagued with toxic side-effects that sometimes even cause fatalities
Summary
A report published in 2011 by the World Health Organization (WHO) placed cancer as the third leading cause of death, after heart disease and stroke, in most developed countries and the second leading cause of death, after heart disease, in Malaysia [1]. 2007, the National Cancer Institute in Malaysia has approved approximately RM5 billion in funds for cancer research This amount does not include funds provided by other federal agencies, states, local governments, voluntary organizations, private institutions, and industries. Nanoparticle drug-delivery can be manipulated to provide properties for targeting diseased tissues and specificity. What makes nanostructures attractive are their versatility in their features to include nanoscaling, unique optical, electronic, and magnetic properties and their production, which can be up-scaled. These unique characters of nanostructures have opened new realms in the field of medicine [4,5,6]
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