Starch-Capped AgNPs’ as Potential Cytotoxic Agents against Prostate Cancer Cells

Abstract

One of the major therapeutic approaches of prostate cancer (PC) is androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), but patients develop resistance within 2–3 years, making the development of new therapeutic approaches of great importance. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) synthesized through green approaches have been studied as anticancer agents because of their physical-chemical properties. This study explored the cytotoxic capacity of starch-capped AgNPs, synthesized through green methods, in LNCaP and in PC-3 cells, a hormonal-sensitive and hormone-resistant PC cell line, respectively. These AgNPs were synthesized in a microwave pressurized synthesizer and characterized by ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Their cytotoxicity was assessed regarding their ability to alter morphological aspect (optical microscopy), induce damage in cytoplasmic membrane (Trypan Blue Assay), mitochondria (WST-1 assay), cellular proliferation (BrdU assay), and cell cycle (Propidium iodide and flow-cytometry). AgNPs showed surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of approximately 408 nm and average size of 3 nm. The starch-capped AgNPs successfully induced damage in cytoplasmic membrane and mitochondria, at concentrations equal and above 20 ppm. These damages lead to cell cycle arrest in G0/G1 and G2/M, blockage of proliferation and death in LNCaP and PC-3 cells, respectively. This data shows these AgNPs’ potential as anticancer agents for the different stages of PC.

Low-dose exposure to phytosynthesized gold nanoparticles combined with glutamine deprivation enhances cell death in the cancer cell line HeLa via oxidative stress-mediated mitochondrial dysfunction and G0/G1 cell cycle arrest

“…Most proliferating cancer cells tend to arrest in different cell cycle phases when they come across stress conditions, including glucose and glutamine deprivation, or encounter chemical drugs or products, extracts, and NPs from diverse biological sources with cytotoxic potential. 51,[70][71][72][73] Cell cycle arrest provides an opportunity to promote the repair of damaged DNA or trigger the elimination of damaged cells via apoptosis. Investigating cell cycle progression and apoptotic mode of cell death is thus required for the effective screening of prospective therapeutic approaches.…”

Hyaluronic Acid-Based Nanomaterials Applied to Cancer: Where Are We Now?

“…Among them, silver nanoparticles have been studied owing to their specific physicochemical properties and their great potential in killing cancer cells [ 3 ]. Recently, it has been shown that starch-capped silver nanoparticles, synthesized through a green method, successfully induced damage in cytoplasmic membranes and mitochondria, leading to cell cycle arrest and consequent blockage of cell proliferation and death in prostate cancer cells, showing the potential of silver nanoparticles as anticancer agents [ 4 ]. Nanomedicine has been shown to overcome some of the limitations of current drugs used in cancer treatment, such as poor water solubility, lack of specificity to the tumor site, and systemic side effects [ 5 , 6 , 7 ].…”

Silver Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Detection, Characterization and Assessment in Environment

“…This Special Issue comprises eleven research articles and two reviews. Most of the studies use classical AgNPs with different sizes and coatings, but some of them uses more innovative variations of this products, such as silicon-based silver dendritic nanoforest [ 1 ] or starch-capped AgNPs [ 2 ].…”

“…Another work synthesized starch-capped AgNPs and studied their possible use as cytotoxic agents against prostate cancer cells. The study concluded that starch-capped AgNPs successfully damage cancer cell lines; therefore, they are proposed as anticancer agents [ 2 ]. Alumina-supported AgNPs were also proposed as catalysts for betulin oxidation.…”