Abstract
Plant-mediated silver nanoparticles are unique and are considered one of the best nanomaterials used in cancer research. We report a low-cost, eco-friendly process of green synthesis of AgNPs from
stem extracts and evaluated their anticancer potential against colon cancer cell lines HCT-116, HT 29, and SW620. Anticancer activities were performed by an MTT assay and gene expression levels of four genes
,
,
, and
by the real-time polymerase chain reaction. Particles were initially confirmed by UV-visible spectroscopy. The morphology and stability of the particles were examined through TEM, zeta potential, and zeta sizer. GC-MS and FTIR were performed to examine the functional groups. The absorption peak was recorded at 430 nm; the average size recorded by TEM images was 13 nm, while the zeta potential and zeta sizer study showed aggregation in nanoparticles. Compared to
extracts, some of the FT-IR spectrum peaks were sight shifted with some new peaks in
AgNPs.
AgNPs were more toxic against HT29 followed by HTC116 and SW620. Expression levels of most of the genes in HCT116 and HT29 were increased by treatment whereas the gene expression level was least affected in SW620.
AgNPs have anticancer potential and need to be explored in cancer research.