Nanoparticles of Statins Synthesized from Mushroom Using Two Different Solvents and Evaluating Their Cytotoxic Potential Using HepG2 Cell Lines

Abstract

Statins, a class of drugs commercially available to treat atherosclerosis and various cardiovascular diseases that come under the same umbrella but these drugs have various side-effects, like low bioavailability and less solubility in human body, associated with them. Earlier, we synthesized herbal nano-statins from mushroom as an alternative solution to combat this problem. The present work demonstrates synthesis and characterization of nanoparticles of statins in two different solvents namely, acetonitrile (ACN) and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). The cytotoxicity of the synthesized nanoparticles of statins was evaluated using HepG2 cell lines, MTT assay was performed and the results showed that nanoparticles of statins synthesized in DMSO showed significant reduction in cell viability of cancerous cells even at lower doses (50–60 µL) without any significant effect on normal cells. Thus, nanoparticles of statins synthesized in DMSO were proven to be effective to treat cancerous cells, whereas nanoparticles of statins synthesized in acetonitrile were comparatively less effective with only 30–35% cell death even at higher doses (100 µL). Also, it is found to be toxic for normal cells, hampering its overall potential to act as anti-atherosclerotic. This study provides us a platform to further evaluate nano-statins synthesized in DMSO for their anti-atherosclerotic and anti-inflammatory potential by evaluating their efficacy in endothelial cells.