Facile Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles for Anticancer, Antioxidant Applications, and Photocatalytic Degradation of Toxic Organic Pollutants

Mohamed Hosny; Abdelazeem S Eltaweil; Mohamed Mostafa; Yaser A El-Badry; Enas E Hussein; Ahmed M Omer; Manal Fawzy

doi:10.1021/acsomega.1c06714

Facile Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles for Anticancer, Antioxidant Applications, and Photocatalytic Degradation of Toxic Organic Pollutants

ACS Omega. 2022 Jan 11;7(3):3121-3133. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.1c06714. eCollection 2022 Jan 25.

Authors

Mohamed Hosny¹, Abdelazeem S Eltaweil², Mohamed Mostafa³, Yaser A El-Badry⁴, Enas E Hussein⁵, Ahmed M Omer⁶, Manal Fawzy^{1

7}

Affiliations

¹ Green Technology Group, Environmental Sciences Department, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21511, Egypt.
² Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21321, Egypt.
³ Department of Botany and Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21321, Egypt.
⁴ Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Taif University, Khurma, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ National Water Research Center, P.O. Box 74, Shubra El-Kheima 13411, Egypt.
⁶ Polymer Materials Research Department, Advanced Technology and New Materials Research Institute, City of Scientific Research and Technological Applications (SRTA-City), New Borg El-Arab City 21934, Alexandria, Egypt.
⁷ National Egyptian Biotechnology Experts Network, National Egyptian Academy for Scientific Research and Technology, El Sayeda Zeinab, Cairo 33516, Cairo Governorate, Egypt.

Abstract

In the current study, a facile, rapid, and ecologically safe photosynthesis of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) that remained stable for 3 months is reported to advocate the main aspects of green chemistry, such as safer solvents and auxiliaries, and the use of renewable feedstock. Zi-AuNPs were phytosynthesized by the aqueous extract of Ziziphus spina-christi leaves, and numerous techniques were employed for their characterization. The results demonstrated the successful phytofabrication of crystalline AuNPs with brownish-black color, spherical nanoparticles with a size between 0 and 10 nm, a plasmon peak at 540 nm, and a surface charge of -25.7 mV. Zi-AuNPs showed an effective photodegradation efficiency (81.14%) against malachite green and a good recycling capacity of 69.2% after five cycles of regeneration. The cytotoxicity test by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay signified a high anticancer efficiency for both Zi-AuNPs and Z. spina-christi extract against human breast cancer cells (MCF7 cell line) with IC₅₀'s of 48 and 40.25 μg/mL, respectively. Highly efficient antioxidant capabilities were proven with 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) removal percentages of 67.5% for Zi-AuNPs and 92.34% for Z. spina-christi extract.