Chrysin-Anchored Silver and Gold Nanoparticle-Reduced Graphene Oxide Composites for Breast Cancer Therapy

Abstract

Natural polyphenol assisted fabrication of nanohybrids with improved stability and bioactivity have gained considerable interest in material science. In this study, the anticancer flavone chrysin (5,7-dihydroxyflavone ChR) was employed to fabricate silver (AgNPs) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) hybridized reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanocomposites (ChR@Ag-rGONCs and ChR@Au-rGONCs) with long-term stabilities. Prepared nanocomposites (NCs) were characterized using high-throughput analyses. The hydroxyl (O–H) and carbonyl (CO) functional groups of ChR actively contribute to the reduction of GO/metal ions (Ag+ and Au3+) and uniform decoration of Ag and AuNPs on the rGO active sites. The presence of noble metal NPs on the rGO surface improved its thermal stability and performances in diverse physiological conditions. Moreover, the surface passivation of the fabricated NCs with natural anticancer flavone ChR improved its biocompatibility. Due to the synergistic impact of the plasmonic metal–rGO hybrids, the fabricated NCs exhibited an increased cytotoxic effect over that of free-ChR against two different breast carcinoma (MDA-MD-468 and MDA-MD-231) cell lines. The prepared NCs showed comparatively less toxicity against the normal mouse fibroblast (L929) cells, demonstrating the high safety of biofunctionalized NCs in anticancer therapy. We demonstrated that the generation of reactive oxygen species released by the metal ions coexisting on the rGO induce apoptosis. Hence, this work offers a natural and viable scaling-up procedure to synthesize noble metal NPs decorated hybrid rGO composites for useful antibreast cancer applications.

The Preliminary Study on the Proapoptotic Effect of Reduced Graphene Oxide in Breast Cancer Cell Lines

“…Gnanasakar et al demonstrated a significant cytotoxic effect of prepared nanocomposites against MDA-MB-468 and MDA-MB-231 cell lines compared to normal cells by inducing apoptosis. The overall result of this study suggests that the prepared metal-rGO nanocomposites functionalized with 5,7-dihydroxy flavones have a bright future for cancer chemotherapeutic purposes [8].…”

Graphene and graphene oxide with anticancer applications: Challenges and future perspectives

“…For a step toward the improvement of stability and bioactivity, natural polyphenols have been utilized in combination with the G‐based nanocomposites. Sivaperumal and co‐workers 137 have described the preparation of silver and gold nanoparticles hybridized with reduced GO nanocomposites and deploying the anticancer flavone, chrysin with improved stability, bioactivity, and biocompatibility. These nanohybrids had enhanced cytotoxic effects against breast carcinoma cell lines with low toxicity to the normal cells; the formation of ROS discharged by the co‐existing metal ions on the reduced GO promoted apoptosis 137 .…”

“…These nanohybrids had enhanced cytotoxic effects against breast carcinoma cell lines with low toxicity to the normal cells; the formation of ROS discharged by the co-existing metal ions on the reduced GO promoted apoptosis. 137 Some natural polyphenolic flavonoids with anticancer effects (e.g., quercetin) have been utilized to generate G-and GO-based nanosystems with controlled drug delivery; high cytotoxicity toward cancerous cells and targeted drug delivery properties could be attained by these nanosystems. 138 Because of the serious adverse effects and non-targeting disadvantages of chemotherapy tactics, researchers have instigated extensive investigations into innovative nanostructures that have led to the design of a wide range of effective nanosystems for the treatment of cancers.…”

Emerging cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying anticancer indications of chrysin

“…Fabrication of chrysin-attached to silver and gold nanoparticles crossbred reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites led to augmentation of the generation of ROS-induced apoptosis in breast cancer [ 91 ]. Chrysin loaded PCL-PEG-PCL had greater antitumor impact on gene expression of BRCA1, FTO, and hTERT in comparison to free chrysin [ 92 ].…”