Investigation of the Effect of Silver Nanoparticles Obtained from Primula Vulgaris Extracts by Applying the Green Synthesis Method on MCF-7 Cells

Abstract

In recent years, the use of nanoparticles has gained significant attention in cancer research due to their unique properties and potential as targeted drug delivery systems. This study focuses on the synthesis and characterization of Primula vulgaris stabilized silver nanoparticles (PVAgNPs) and the evaluation of in vitro cytotoxicity against MCF-7 cells. In this study, PVAgNPs were synthesized separately from the flower (PVAgNPsF), leaf (PVAgNPsL), and root (PVAgNPsR) extracts of Primula vulgaris (PV). The PVAgNPs were characterized by various analytical techniques, including UV-Visible absorption spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction, Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), zeta potential, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The maximum absorption wavelengths are obtained at 437 nm for the PVAgNPsR samples and at 440 nm for the PVAgNPsF and PVAgNPsL samples. Based on the XRD spectra, PVAgNPs were found to have a cubic crystal structure. On average, the zeta potential values of PVAgNPs ranged from-14 to-28 mV, indicating that they were quite stable. SEM analysis showed that the synthesized PVAgNPs were predominantly spherical in shape and ranged in size from 40 to 89 nm. The iCELLigence Real-Time Cell Analysis (RTCA) system was used to evaluate the efficacy of the synthesized PVAgNPs against MCF-7 cell lines. After 24 h of incubation, the inhibitory concentrations (IC50) of PVAgNPsL PVAgNPsR, and PVAgNPsF Were determined to be 30.37, 36.74, and 57.64 µg/mL, respectively, indicating that PVAgNPs have an in vitro cytotoxic effect on MCF-7 cells. In conclusion, PVAgNPs were successfully synthesized using a green synthesis approach. In addition, a thorough characterization of these nanoparticles was carried out, confirming their structural properties, and demonstrating their efficacy against MCF-7 cell lines. These results highlight the potential of PVAgNPs as promising candidates for the development of novel anticancer drugs. However, further studies are required to evaluate their feasibility and efficacy for future therapeutic applications. © 2024, Iranian Institute of Research and Development in Chemical Industries. All rights reserved.