Iron oxide nanoparticles synthesized using plant(<i>Beta vulgaris</i> and <i>Punica granatum</i>) extracts for a breast cancer cell line (MCF-7) cytotoxic assay
Duha A. Kadhim, Muslim A. Abid, Zaynab S. Abdulghany, Jehan Yahya Alhatem, Samah A. Kadhim, Wisam J. Aziz, Mohammed F. Al Marjani
Abstract
We successfully developed a breast cancer cell line (MCF-7) cytotoxic assay using iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) prepared by mixing Beta vulgaris and Punica granatum extracts with iron chloride (III) salts at 200°C for 2 h using a simple chemical method. IONPs were diagnosed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and photoluminescence (PL). XRD measurements exhibited a crystallite size of 38 and 37 nm with hexagonal and cubic structures for IONPs made using two plant (Beta vulgaris and Punica granatum) extracts, respectively. FE-SEM images revealed that the average IONP grain size was 44.81 and 29.77 nm for the two plant extracts, respectively, and PL measurements showed that the band edge emission was 2.64 and 2.60 eV, respectively, for IONPs. The IONPs were applied as a medical treatment for a human breast cancer cell line, and the inhibition rate% results were found to be relatively high and interesting (59.4% and 76.3%, respectively, for MCF-7).