Reduction of graphene oxide by resveratrol: a novel and simple biological method for the synthesis of an effective anticancer nanotherapeutic molecule

Abstract

Objective Graphene represents a monolayer or a few layers of sp 2 -bonded carbon atoms with a honeycomb lattice structure. Unique physical, chemical, and biological properties of graphene have attracted great interest in various fields including electronics, energy, material industry, and medicine, where it is used for tissue engineering and scaffolding, drug delivery, and as an antibacterial and anticancer agent. However, graphene cytotoxicity for ovarian cancer cells is still not fully investigated. The objective of this study was to synthesize graphene using a natural polyphenol compound resveratrol and to investigate its toxicity for ovarian cancer cells. Methods The successful reduction of graphene oxide (GO) to graphene was confirmed by UV-vis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Dynamic light scattering and scanning electron microscopy were employed to evaluate particle size and surface morphology of GO and resveratrol-reduced GO (RES-rGO). Raman spectroscopy was used to determine the removal of oxygen-containing functional groups from GO surface and to ensure the formation of graphene. We also performed a comprehensive analysis of GO and RES-rGO cytotoxicity by examining the morphology, viability, membrane integrity, activation of caspase-3, apoptosis, and alkaline phosphatase activity of ovarian cancer cells. Results The results also show that resveratrol effectively reduced GO to graphene and the properties of RES-rGO nanosheets were comparable to those of chemically reduced graphene. Biological experiments showed that GO and RES-rGO caused a dose-dependent membrane leakage and oxidative stress in cancer cells, and reduced their viability via apoptosis confirmed by the upregulation of apoptosis executioner caspase-3. Conclusion Our data demonstrate a single, simple green approach for the synthesis of highly water-dispersible functionalized graphene nanosheets, suggesting a possibility of replacing toxic hydrazine by a natural and safe phenolic compound resveratrol, which has similar efficacy in the reduction of GO to rGO. Resveratrol-based GO reduction would facilitate large-scale production of graphene-based materials for the emerging graphene-based technologies and biomedical applications.

Green Synthesis, Characterization and Antibacterial Activity of Silver Nanoparticles of Endophytic Fungi Aspergillus terreus

“…After synthesis, characterization of AgNPs is necessary to predict their physicochemical properties that could have a significant impact on their biological activity. Characterization techniques provides informations like size, shape, charge, solubility, aggregation, and function group involved in reduction and capping of nanoparticles [19,20]. Therefore, we used different characterization technique i.e.…”

Combination of graphene oxide–silver nanoparticle nanocomposites and cisplatin enhances apoptosis and autophagy in human cervical cancer cells

“…GO was synthesized as described previously, with suitable modifications. 23,31 In a typical synthesis process, 2 g of natural Gt powder was added to 350 mL of cooled (0°C) H 2 SO 4 , and then 8 g KMnO 4 and 1 g NaNO 3 were added gradually while stirring. The mixture was transferred to a 40°C water bath and stirred for 60 minutes.…”

“…23,32 Briefly, rGO was obtained from the reaction of C-phycocyanin with GO. In a typical reduction experiment, 10 mL C-phycocyanin (10 mg) was added to 90 mL 1 mg/mL aqueous GO; the mixture was stirred at 30°C for 12 hours.…”

“…[21][22][23] Therefore, finding alternative processes becomes essential, apparently leading to biological methods that are well appreciated for their viable and environment-friendly approach, with the added advantage of providing solubility to rGO, due to its biomolecular properties. 21 Graphene and graphene-related materials have been studied extensively for cellular toxicity in various cancer cells, including human alveolar basal epithelial (A549) cells, human breast cancer cells, 22 and human ovarian cancer cells, 23 due their unique properties. Similarly, the anticancer properties of silver NPs have been investigated in various cancer cell lines, including human breast cancer cells 24 and human lung cancer cells.…”

“…23 After GO reduction by C-phycocyanin, all the characteristic absorption bands of oxygen-containing groups (O-H, C=O, and C-O) were substantially weakened. The spectra of AgNPs is shown in Figure 3C, a typically characteristic band of AgNPs observed at 3,420 cm -1 corresponded to O-H stretching vibration, indicating the presence of an alcohol and phenol band at 1,630 cm -1 in the spectra corresponding to C-N and C-C stretching, indicating the presence of proteins.…”