Facile green synthesis of nano-sized ZnO using leaf extract of Morinda tinctoria: MCF-7 cell cycle arrest, antiproliferation, and apoptosis studies

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) were prepared by a facile, one-pot, greener approach using aqueous leaf extract of the medicinal plant Nuna (Morinda tinctoria) and were analyzed by ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) and Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. The TEM images confirmed that the as-prepared greener Nuna (Nu)-mediated ZnO NPs (Nu-ZnO NPs) were spherical in shape, with an average diameter of 8-10 nm. Further, the single phase and crystallinity of the Nu-ZnO NPs were observed by PXRD pattern. In addition, the biogenic Nu-ZnO NPs showed high cytotoxicity in human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) cells in vitro. These tiny spherical bodies produced profound toxicity according to the MIT assay, with IC50 of 46 mu g/mL. Apoptosis and morphological changes were studied using acridine orange/ethidium bromide and 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole fluorescence staining and MTT assays. Finally, the anticancer efficacy of biosynthesized Nu-ZnO NPs was imparted by dysregulation of cell division through arrest of growth-promoting and inhibiting signals in the S phase, with further reduction in the G2/M phase of the cell cycle. In conclusion, Nu-ZnO NPs conferred MCF-7 cell toxicity by modulating proliferation and inducing apoptosis. (C) 2021 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) prepared using aqueous leaf extract of the medicinal plant Nuna exhibited high cytotoxicity in human breast adenocarcinoma cells in vitro. These nanoparticles induced cell toxicity by modulating cell division, inducing apoptosis, and inhibiting cell cycle progression.