Synthesis, Characterization, Anti-Cancer Analysis of Sr0.5Ba0.5Dy x Sm x Fe8-2 xO19 (0.00 ≤ x ≤ 1.0) Microsphere Nanocomposites

Suhailah S Al-Jameel; Munirah A Almessiere; Firdos A Khan; Nedaa Taskhandi; Yassine Slimani; Najat S Al-Saleh; Ayyar Manikandan; Ebtesam A Al-Suhaimi; Abdulhadi Baykal

doi:10.3390/nano11030700

Synthesis, Characterization, Anti-Cancer Analysis of Sr_0.5Ba_0.5Dy _x Sm _x Fe_{8-2 x}O₁₉ (0.00 ≤ x ≤ 1.0) Microsphere Nanocomposites

Nanomaterials (Basel). 2021 Mar 11;11(3):700. doi: 10.3390/nano11030700.

Authors

Suhailah S Al-Jameel¹, Munirah A Almessiere², Firdos A Khan³, Nedaa Taskhandi⁴, Yassine Slimani², Najat S Al-Saleh⁵, Ayyar Manikandan⁶, Ebtesam A Al-Suhaimi⁷, Abdulhadi Baykal⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia.
² Department of Biophysics, Institute for Research and Medical Consultations (IRMC), Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia.
³ Department of Stem Cell Research, Institute for Research and Medical Consultations (IRMC), Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Department of Nanomedicine Research, Institute for Research and Medical Consultations (IRMC), Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Consultant Family and Community Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia.
⁶ Department of Chemistry, Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research (BIHER), Bharath University, Chennai 600 073, Tamil Nadu, India.
⁷ Biology Department, Science College, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

There is enormous interest in combining two or more nanoparticles for various biomedical applications, especially in anti-cancer agent delivery. In this study, the microsphere nanoparticles were prepared (MSNPs) and their impact on cancer cells was examined. The MSNPs were prepared by using the hydrothermal method where strontium (Sr), barium (Ba), dysprosium (Dy), samarium (Sm), and iron oxide (Fe_8-2xO₁₉) were combined, and dysprosium (Dy) and samarium (Sm) was substituted with strontium (Sr) and barium (Ba), preparing Sr_0.5Ba_0.5Dy_xSm_xFe_8-2xO₁₉ (0.00 ≤ x ≤ 1.0) MSNPs. The microspheres were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) techniques. The diffraction pattern of nanohexaferrites (NHFs) reflected the signature peaks of the hexagonal structure. The XRD revealed a pure hexagonal structure without any undesired phase, which indicated the homogeneity of the products. The crystal size of the nanoparticles were in the range of 22 to 36 nm by Scherrer's equation. The SEM of MSNPs showed a semi-spherical shape with a high degree of aggregation. TEM and HR-TEM images of MSNPs verified the spherical shape morphology and structure that approved an M-type hexaferrite formation. The anti-cancer activity was examined on HCT-116 (human colorectal carcinoma) and HeLa (cervical cancer cells) using MTT (3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay and post-48 h treatment of MSNPs caused a dose-dependent inhibition of HCT-116 and HeLa cell proliferation and growth. Conversely, no significant cytotoxic effect was observed on HEK-293 cells. The treatments of MSNPs also induced cancer cells DNA disintegration, as revealed by 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining. Finally, these findings suggest that synthesized MSNPs possess potential inhibitory actions on cancerous cells without harming normal cells.

Keywords: anti-cancer activity; confocal microscopy; hexaferrites; microsphere nanoparticles; synthesis.

Grants and funding

IRMC-015-2019/Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University