Crystallization of Linde Type A Nanomaterials at Two Temperatures Exhibit Differential Inhibition of HeLa Cervical Cancer Cells In Vitro

Abstract

This work reports evidence of the synthesis of zeolite A at two different temperatures (60 °C and 105 °C) from kaolin. XRD spectral analysis revealed percent crystallinity of 74 ± 2 and 71 ± 3 in LTA60 and LTA105 respectively. The average crystallize size of LTA60 and LTA105 was also estimated using Scherrer’s equation to be 57 nm. FTIR analysis showed signature peaks characteristics of zeolite A in the two materials, except the appearance of absorbance peak at 2380 cm− 1 in the LTA60 spectrum which was not observed in LTA105. Nitrogen porosity measurements of LTA60 and LTA105 gave the following parameters: average pore width of 2.45 and 1.01 nm respectively for LTA60 and LTA105, surface areas of 19.18 and 8.00 m2/g and pore volume of 0.012 and 0.002 cm3/g in that order. The influence of the materials on HeLa cancer cell growth was also investigated and the results showed differential inhibitory effects with LTA60 revealing pronounced inhibitory effects compared to LTA105 after 72 hours of cell incubation. This studies highlighted the importance of crystallization conditions that could influence the physicochemical parameters including structure, porosity, size, and morphology of zeolite materials on cell activity. The work also provided unique opportunities for utilizing natural deposits of kaolin globally to fabricate biomimetic materials for various biological applications.