Investigating the therapeutic effect of folic acid conjugated ZnO nanoparticles on human triple negative breast cancer cell line

Shiva Sabzandam; Masoumeh Zahmatkeshan; Moein Adel; Mehrad Mehrdadian; Farzaneh Saliminia; Fariba Esmaeili

doi:10.5937/zasmat2302213S

Authors

Shiva Sabzandam Islamic Azad University, Tehran Medical Sciences, Faculty of Advanced Sciences and Technology, Department of Medical Nanotechnology, Tehran Author
Masoumeh Zahmatkeshan Iran University of Medical Sciences, Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Tehran, Iran + Iran University of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Department of Medical Nanotechnology, Tehran, Iran Author
Moein Adel Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Department of Medical Nanotechnology, Tabriz, Iran Author
Mehrad Mehrdadian Iran University of Medical Sciences, School of Medicine-International Campus, Tehran, Iran Author
Farzaneh Saliminia Iran University of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Department of Medical Nanotechnology, Tehran, Iran Author
Fariba Esmaeili Tehran University of Medical Sciences, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Department of Medical Nanotechnology, Tehran, Iran Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5937/zasmat2302213S

Keywords:

nanoparticle, zinc oxide, folic acid, triple negative breast cancer

Abstract

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) accounts for 15-20% of all invasive breast cancers and has a poor prognosis. ZnO NPs are promising anti-cancer agents. Moreover, folate Alpha receptor (FRa) is a potential biomarker and therapeutic target because it is significantly expressed in TNBC. Therefore, ZnO and folic acid-conjugated ZnO (F-ZnO) NPs were synthesized by the solgel method. NPs were characterized by DLS, zeta potential, TEM, FTIR, and ICP-MS. FA-ZnO NPs had a mean diameter of 20 ± 2 nm and a surface charge of -15 mV, while ZnO NPs had a mean diameter of 40 ± 5 nm and a surface charge of -5 mV. The MTT assay and trypan blue test, respectively, were used to determine the cytotoxicity and viability percentage of ZnO and F-ZnO NPs at different concentrations of 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 and 128 µg/mL for 12, 24, 48 and 72 hours (h) on the human TNBC cell line MDA-MB-231. The results indicated that both ZnO and F-ZnO NPs significantly reduced the viability of the cancer cells in a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner (p<0.05). The IC50 values for FA-ZnO NPs were approximately 3, 3.74, 4.38 and 5.5 times higher than those for ZnO NPs at 12-, 24-, 48and 72-hour time points, respectively. The results suggest that F-ZnO NPs have the potential to be a good option for TNBC treatment and warrant further investigations.

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