Green nanotechnology: Anticancer Activity of Silver Nanoparticles using Citrullus colocynthis aqueous extracts

Abstract

Green synthesis of metal nanoparticles is a growing research area because of their potential applications in nanomedicines. The green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (SNPs) is a convenient, cheap and environmentally safe approach compared to chemical synthesis. In the present study, we synthesized SNPs from AgNO₃ using aqueous extracts (AEs) of fruits, leaves, roots and seeds of Citrullus colocynthis as reducing and capping agents. The SNPs were early detected in the aqueous extracts by color change to the reddish brown, and further were confirmed by Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) analysis. The TEM analysis of SNPs showed spherical nanoparticles with mean size between 7 to 19nm. The anticancer activity of SNPs has been assessed invitro.  MTT assay on human cancer cell lines of colon (HCT-116), breast (MCF-7), liver (Hep-G2) and intestine (Caco-2) showed good anticancer activity which was negligible for the aqueous plant extracts. Regarding to the tested cell lines the Hep-G2 cell line and HCT-116 were the most sensitive cell line towards the cytotoxic activities of the tested SNPs, while the Caco-2 was the most resistant cell line towards the cytotoxic activities.

Keywords: green synthesis, silver nanoparticles, Citrullus colocynthis, anticancer.