Stability of gum arabic-gold nanoparticles in physiological simulated pHs and their selective effect on cell lines

For the safe use of nanoparticles, especially in the biomedical field, their stability in different environments and the prevention of binding to the component organisms, which could lead to nanoparticle aggregation, is indispensable. Herein, we present a simple, efficient and biologically based method to obtain small gum arabic (GA)-stabilized gold nanoparticles (GA-AuNPs) with remarkable stability in physiological pHs. The in vitro stability tests in intestinal (pH 6.8) and gastric (pH 1.2) simulated pHs revealed that GA-AuNPs exhibit a surprisingly high stability even near the zero zeta potential. When subjected to GA-AuNPs, changes in the viability, proliferation and morphology were selectively induced in the B16-F10 melanoma cell line, whereas no alterations in the macrophage cell line, RAW 264.7, or in the fibroblast cell line, BALB/3T3, were observed at the same concentrations. Therefore, considering the remarkable stability and selective effect on cell lines, we show that GA-AuNPs exhibit properties that could provide a future alternative for melanoma treatment.