Green synthesis of Au/ZnO nanoparticles for anticancer activity and oxidative stress against MCF-7 cell lines

Cancer still kills more lives and causes heavy losses to countries' economies, despite the advance in its diagnosis and treatment methods. Nanotechnology has opened new and promising horizons in exploiting the distinct properties of nanomaterials. This study aimed to examine the activity of decorating gold (Au) on zinc oxide (ZnO) in treating breast cancer cells (MCF-7). In this work, we used Hibiscus sabdariffa flower extract in green synthesis ZnO, Au, and Au/ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) and characterized by UV-Vis, FTIR, XRD, FESEM, EDX, TEM, and BET techniques. ZnO, Au, and Au/ZnO NPs were evaluated for viability in MCF-7 cells, and oxidative stress was tested by determining the activity of antioxidant enzymes, lipid peroxidation, and calcium ions levels. The results indicated that the synthesized NPs had spherical or semi-spherical irregular shapes with an average size of 50.7, 51.6, and 8.45 nm for ZnO, Au/ZnO, and Au NPs, respectively. The inhibitory concentration (IC50) was calculated to be 33.5, 28.7, and 34.9 mu g/mL for ZnO, Au, and Au/ZnO NPs, respectively. The findings of this study show that the synthesized NPs caused a reduction in the antioxidant enzyme activity and increased levels of lipids peroxidation and calcium ions in the exposed cells compared to the untreated cells. The results of the measurements indicate that the Au/ZnO NPs were less cytotoxic against MCf-7 cells in vitro than the ZnO NPs at concentrations up to 30 mu g/mL and alteration oxidation stress.