Preparation, characterization, and in vitro evaluation of the anticancer activity of Ce 3+ doped CuFe 2 O 4 spinel nanoparticles in MCF- 7 cell lines

Abstract

Abstract In the current study, Ce-doped Copper ferrite, CuCexFe2-xO4(x=0.00, 0.03, and 0.05) particles in the nano range were prepared successfully by using the chemical co-precipitation technique. The structure, composition, optical properties, and morphological information of the obtained ferrite nanoparticles (NPs) were analyzed by making use of powder X-Ray diffraction (PXRD) pattern, Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopic (FE-SEM) studies, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopic (FT-IR) analysis, and Energy-dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS), and the UV-Vis-NIR Spectroscopy. The MTT [3- 9(4, 5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide] test was utilized to examine the in vitro anti-cancer activities against the breast cancer MCF-7 cell line, which shows the dose-dependent cell survival within the range of concentration 6.25µg/mL-100µg/mL. In vitro cytotoxicity studies have shown that CuCexFe2-xO4 (x = 0.05) nanoparticles (NPs) were proved to be safe at lower concentrations, indicating their biocompatibility. However, higher concentrations (>25 g/mL) of the NPs lowered the cell viability and disrupted the cell lines of L929 fibroblasts. The ability of the nanoparticles to induce apoptosis in human breast cancer cells were studied by double staining method and flow cytometry and it was noted that apoptosis is one of the mechanism by which it induces cytotoxic effect on MCF-7 cell lines.