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Antiproliferative effect of 1,10-Phenanthroline coupled to sulfated ZnO nanoparticles in SiHa cervix cancer cell line

  • Original Paper: Sol-gel and hybrid materials for biological and health (medical) applications
  • Published:
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Abstract

During the last decade, nanosized zinc oxide (ZnO) particles have been explored as antiproliferative agents in some cancer cell lines. In this research we propose the surface modification of ZnO with sulfate groups and 1,10-Phenanthroline as antiproliferative agent against SiHa cervical cancer cell line. The ZnO nanoparticles were prepared by two different methods: sol–gel (SG) and precipitation (P). By using sulfate as surface modifier, the anchoring of 1,10-Phenanthroline (Phen) was achieved by wet impregnation. The sol–gel samples showed hexagonal tube-shaped particles of around 100 nm in width, whereas the precipitation method promoted the formation of sphere-like particles with diameters ranging from 20 to 80 nm. The assessment of zeta potential and hydrodynamic size showed the variations due to the surface modifications exhibiting values ranging from −9.9 to −12.4 mV when dispersed in DMEM medium. The in vitro assays revealed the synergistic effect of the modified nanoparticles, which promoted apoptosis and inhibited 65% of cell proliferation in SiHa cell line.

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Highlights

  • Wet impregnation allowed to incorporate 1,10-Phenanthroline on the sulfated ZnO nanoparticles.

  • The sol–gel and precipitation methods directed to different morphologies affecting the distribution of 1,10-Phenanthroline.

  • Sol–gel modified nanoparticles showed 71.5% of apoptosis in SiHa cell line at a dose of 30 µg ml−1.

  • The surface modified sol–gel ZnO material activates twice Caspase-9 than the corresponding surface modified ZnO obtained by precipitation method.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank to the UJAT and LANNBIO-CINVESTAV Mérida for the facilities and projects INFRA-269701, INFRA-269784, FOMIX Yucatán 2008-108160, CONACYT LAB-2009-01-123913, 294643, 188345 and 204822. LAR acknowledge to CONACYT for the doctoral scholarship.

Funding

The Doctoral scholarship for LAR was provided by CONACYT-Mexico and the projects acknowledged in the Acknowledgement section correspond to the acquisition of equipment for the laboratories where the investigation was performed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratorio de Nanotecnología, División Académica de Ingeniería y Arquitectura, Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco, Km 1 Carr. Cunduacán-Jalpa de Méndez Col. La Esmeralda, C.P. 86690, Cunduacán, TAB, Mexico

    Lisbeth Almeida Ramón, Rosendo López González, Cinthia García Mendoza, Getsemani Morales Mendoza & Mayra Angélica Alvarez Lemus

  2. Laboratorio de Epigenética y Biología Molecular del Cáncer, División Académica Multidisciplinaria de Comalcalco, Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco, Ranchería Sur 4a Secc., C.P.86630, Comalcalco, TAB, Mexico

    Erick N. de la Cruz Hernández & María Fernanda Hernández Landero

  3. Departamento de Física Aplicada, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN Unidad Mérida, AP 73 Cordemex, C.P. 97310, Mérida, YUC, Mexico

    Patricia Quintana Owen

  4. ECOCATAL, Departamento de Química, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Iztapalapa, Av. Ferrocarril San Rafael Atlixco, Núm. 186, Col. Leyes de Reforma 1a Secc., C.P. 09310, Ciudad de México, Mexico

    Getsemani Morales Mendoza

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  1. Lisbeth Almeida Ramón
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by LAR, ENCH, GMM and MFHL. The first draft of the manuscript was written by LAR, RLG and CGM, all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript and the submitted version was revised by PQO and MAAL. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Mayra Angélica Alvarez Lemus.

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Ramón, L.A., de la Cruz Hernández, E.N., González, R.L. et al. Antiproliferative effect of 1,10-Phenanthroline coupled to sulfated ZnO nanoparticles in SiHa cervix cancer cell line. J Sol-Gel Sci Technol 104, 147–159 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-022-05922-w

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