Anticancer Activity of Au/CNT Nanocomposite Fabricated by Nanosecond Pulsed Laser Ablation Method on Colon and Cervical Cancer

Abbad Al Baroot; Khaled A Elsayed; Firdos Alam Khan; Shamsuddeen A Haladu; Filiz Ercan; Emre Çevik; Q A Drmosh; M A Almessiere

doi:10.3390/mi14071455

Anticancer Activity of Au/CNT Nanocomposite Fabricated by Nanosecond Pulsed Laser Ablation Method on Colon and Cervical Cancer

Micromachines (Basel). 2023 Jul 20;14(7):1455. doi: 10.3390/mi14071455.

Authors

Abbad Al Baroot¹, Khaled A Elsayed¹, Firdos Alam Khan², Shamsuddeen A Haladu¹, Filiz Ercan^{3

4}, Emre Çevik⁵, Q A Drmosh^{6

7}, M A Almessiere^{3

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Basic Engineering Sciences, College of Engineering, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia.
² Department of Stem Cell Research, Institute for Research and Medical Consultations (IRMC), Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia.
³ Department of Physics, College of Science, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Basic & Applied Scientific Research Centre, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Department of Biophysics, Institute for Research and Medical Consultations (IRMC), Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia.
⁶ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia.
⁷ Interdisciplinary Research Centre for Hydrogen and Energy Storage (HES), King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are increasingly being investigated for cancer management due to their physicochemical properties, low toxicity, and biocompatibility. This study used an eco-friendly technique (laser synthesis) to fabricate AuNP and Au/CNT nanocomposites. AuNPs, Au/CNTs, and CNTs were tested as potential cancer nanotherapeutics on colorectal carcinoma cells (HCT-116) and cervical cancer cells (HeLa) using a 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. In addition, the non-cancer embryonic kidney cells HEK-293 were taken as a control in the study. The cell viability assay demonstrated a significant reduction in cancer cell population post 48 h treatments of AuNPs, and Au/CNTs. The average cell viabilities of AuNPs, Au/CNTs, and CNTs for HCT-116 cells were 50.62%, 65.88%, 93.55%, and for HeLa cells, the cell viabilities were 50.88%, 66.51%, 91.73%. The cell viabilities for HEK-293 were 50.44%, 65.80%, 93.20%. Both AuNPs and Au/CNTs showed higher cell toxicity and cell death compared with CNT nanomaterials. The treatment of AuNPs and Au/CNTs showed strong inhibitory action on HCT-116 and HeLa cells. However, the treatment of CNTs did not significantly decrease HCT-116 and HeLa cells, and there was only a minor decrease. The treatment of AuNPs, and Au/CNTs, on normal HEK-293 cells also showed a significant decrease in cell viability, but the treatment of CNTs did not produce a significant decrease in the HEK-293 cells. This study shows that a simplified synthesis technique like laser synthesis for the preparation of high-purity nanomaterials has good efficacy for possible future cancer therapy with minimal toxicity.

Keywords: MWCNT; cervical cancer; colon cancer; gold nanoparticles; laser ablation.

Grants and funding

Authors extend their appreciation to the Deanship of Scientific Research (DSR) and Deputyship for Research & Innovation, Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia, for funding this research work through the project number 2020-073Eng at Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University/College of Engineering. AR acknowledges UK-Saudi Challenge Fund 2022, sponsored by the British Council.