Apoptosis-inducing potential of biosynthesized silver nanoparticles in breast cancer cells

Objectives: Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are one of the most vital and fascinating nanomaterials used in biomedical applications. Moreover, natural products from medicinal plants provide unlimited opportunities for drug development owing to the unmatched availability of a biochemical diversity. In this study, we biosynthesized AgNPs from the leaf extract of Ochradenus arabicus using silver nitrate and evaluated the cytotoxicity and apoptosis inducing ability of the O. arabicus AgNPs (OA-synthesized AgNPs) against the MCF-7 human breast cancer cells. Methods: The OA-synthesized AgNPs were characterized by X-ray diffraction, UV-visible spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Results: The OA-synthesized AgNPs were highly toxic to the MCF-7 cells as the cell proliferation was significantly decreased post-treatment. The intracellular level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was significantly increased (p < 0.05). Moreover, a dose-dependent increase in the percentage of apoptosis and autophagy was also evident. Conclusion: The findings of this study confirm the ability of OA-synthesized AgNPs to stimulate apoptosis and suppress cell growth and proliferation. (C) 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University.