Eco-friendly green synthesis of silver nanoparticles and their potential applications as antioxidant and anticancer agents

Abstract

Eco-friendly green synthesis of nanoparticles using medicinal plants gained immense importance due to its potential therapeutic uses. In the current study, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized using water extract of Jurinea dolomiaea leaf and root at room temperature. MTT assay was used to study anticancer potential of AgNPs against cervical cancer cell line (HeLa), breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7), and mouse embryonic fibroblast (NIH-3 T3) cell line for toxicity evaluation. The antioxidant potential was evaluated using stable DPPH radicals. In addition, the apoptotic nuclear changes prompted by AgNPs in more susceptible HeLa cells were observed using fluorescence microscope through DAPI and PI staining. Physiochemical properties of biosynthesized AgNPs were characterized using various techniques. AgNPs were formed in very short time and UV–vis spectra showed characteristic absorption peak of AgNPs. SEM and TEM showed spherical shape of AgNPs and XRD revealed their crystalline nature. EDX analysis revealed high percentage of silver in green synthesized AgNPs. FTIR analysis indicated involvement of secondary metabolites in fabrication of AgNPs. In vitro cytotoxic and antioxidant study revealed that herb and biosynthesized AgNPs exhibited significant dose-dependent and time-dependent anticancer and antioxidant potential. Furthermore, study on normal cell line and microscopic analysis of apoptosis revealed that AgNPs exhibited good safety profile as compared to cisplatin and induces significant apoptosis effect. Based on the current findings, it is strongly believe that use of J. dolomiaea offers large scale production of biocompatible AgNPs that can be used as alternative anticancer agents against cancer cell lines tested.

Keywords:

• Green synthesis
• silver nanoparticles
• spectroscopy analysis
• anticancer activity
• apoptosis

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Dr. Ayaz Arif, Department of Physics, University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Muzaffarabad, Pakistan for providing facilities such as FTIR and SEM analysis and Department of Physics, COMSATS University, Islamabad, Pakistan for XRD analysis. The authors would also like thank to Prof. Dr. Tariq Bhatti for helping EDX and TEM analysis.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

Jamshed Iqbal also thankful to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), The Hague, The Netherlands and the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan through Project No. 20-3733/NRPU/R&D/14/520 for the financial support.