Characterization of green synthesized flaxseed zinc oxide nanoparticles and their cytotoxic, apoptotic and antimigratory activities on aggressive human cancer cells

Abstract

This study was done of green synthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) by using flaxseed extract (Linum usitatissimum L.) and investigated their potential anticancer effects. The ZnO NPs were characterized by UV–Vis, SEM/EDS, and XRD techniques. These analyses showed that these NPs were spherically shaped with a 23–55 nm size range. The cytotoxicity of NPs was confirmed by MTT assay against A549, HT29, and MDA-MB-231 cancer cells, indicating their antiproliferative effect (IC₅₀ values: 68.3, 66.3, and 58.8 μg/mL, respectively). The apoptotic induction was analyzed by ELISA, and the results showed that the NPs induced apoptosis through caspase-3/9 activation but not by caspase-8. These NPs significantly trigger the intrinsic-apoptotic pathway. Moreover, they exhibited strong antimigratory properties on the lowly metastatic HT29 and the highly metastatic A549 and MDA-MB-231 cells. This is the first report of Linum usitatissimum L-mediated synthesis of ZnO NPs that could be considered as potential antineoplastic agents.

Keywords:

• Green synthesis
• flaxseed zinc oxide nanoparticles
• metastatic cancer cells
• apoptotic
• antiproliferative and antimigratory activities

Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to Mert AKGUN (Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Science and Technology Application and Research Centre) for his technical assistance.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the Necmettin Erbakan University Scientific Research Foundation (research project No. BAP-161715001).