Cytotoxic Activity of Biosynthesized Gold Nanoparticles with an Extract of the Red Seaweed Corallina officinalis on the MCF-7 Human Breast Cancer Cell Line

Abstract

<b>Background:</b> Nano-biotechnology is recognized as offering revolutionary changes in the field of cancertherapy and biologically synthesized gold nanoparticles are known to have a wide range of medical applications.Materials and <br/><b>Methods</b>: Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) were biosynthesized with an aqueous extract of the red algaCorallina officinalis, used as a reducing and stabilizing agent. GNPs were characterized using UV-Vis spectroscopy,transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive analysis (EDX) and Fourier transform infra-red(FT-IR) spectroscopy and tested for cytotoxic activity against human breast cancer (MCF-7) cells cultured inDulbecco’s modified Eagle medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum, considering their cytotoxictyand effects on cellular DNA. <br/><b>Results</b>: The biosynthesized GNPs were 14.6±1 nm in diameter. FT-IR analysisshowed that the hydroxyl functional group from polyphenols and carbonyl group from proteins could assist information and stabilization. The GNPs showed potent cytotoxic activity against MCF-7 cells, causing necrosisat high concentrations while lower concentrations were without effect as indicated by DNA fragmentation assay.<br/><b>Conclusions</b>: The antitumor activity of the biosynthesized GNPs from the red alga Corallina officinalis againsthuman breast cancer cells may be due to the cytotoxic effects of the gold nanoparticles and the polyphenolcontentof the algal extract.