A new Ce(III) compound based on 5-aminotetrazole-1-propanoic acid for ablation of HeLa cells

Abstract

Developing new drugs for the treatment of cancer is of great significance. Coordination compounds based on tetrazole-carboxylates are the potential candidates for cancer treatment. In this article, [Ce₂(atzpa)₄(H₂O)₈](NO₃)₂·2H₂O based on 5-aminotetrazole-1-propanoic acid (Hatzpa) and Ce(NO₃)₃·6H₂O has been designed and prepared. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction reveals that the compound is binuclear in which atzpa acts as a bridging ligand. In order to improve the water dispersity of this compound, PEG_-5000 (poly(ethyleneglycol_-5000)) was coated on [Ce₂(atzpa)₄(H₂O)₈](NO₃)₂·2H₂O to prepare the nanoparticles (NPs) in distilled water. In vitro study on HeLa cells shows that Hatzpa is nontoxic itself, while [Ce₂(atzpa)₄(H₂O)₈](NO₃)₂·2H₂O NPs show high toxicity. Such NPs have a low half-inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) of 24 μg mL⁻¹ (2.0 × 10⁻5 M). In addition, such NPs are able to inhibit the migration of HeLa cells even at a low concentration effectively, showing their potential to inhibit the transfer of tumors in vivo.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

Keywords:

• Ce(III)
• Hatzpa
• HeLa cell
• in vitro

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors..

Additional information

Funding

The authors acknowledge financial support from the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (Grant No. BK2012210), the Natural Science Foundation of the Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions of China (Grant No. 0KJB430001), and the Opening Fund of Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Functional Materials (Grant No. 12KFJJ010).