Sol-gel preparation and in vitro cytotoxic activity of nanohybrid structures based on multi-walled carbon nanotubes and silicate

ABSTRACT

This work deals with the influence of silicate precursors such as tetraethyl orthosilicate and/or Citrus aurantium L. extract on the structure and cellular uptake of multi-walled carbon nanotubes-based hybrid nanomaterials. The sol-gel synthesis and structure formation have been investigated using X-ray diffraction patterns, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and scanning and transmission electron microscopes. In addition, the particle size distribution and zeta potential measurements were carried out.The cytotoxicity was examined and evaluated by sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay using different human cell lines (normal melanocytes, and carcinoma of breast and liver) in comparison with standard doxorubicin.

KEYWORDS:

• Multi-walled carbon nanotubes
• tetraethyl orthosilicate, sol-gel
• citrus extract
• cytotoxicity

Funding

The authors wish to thank the financial support of National Research Centre, Egypt. This work was a part from Contract No. 10070301.