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Facile engineering of aptamer-coupled silk fibroin encapsulated myogenic gold nanocomposites: investigation of antiproliferative activity and apoptosis induction

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Abstract

Nanocomposites selectively induce cancer cell death, holding potential for precise liver cancer treatment breakthroughs. This study assessed the cytotoxicity of gold nanocomposites (Au NCs) enclosed within silk fibroin (SF), aptamer (Ap), and the myogenic Talaromyces purpureogenus (TP) against a human liver cancer cell (HepG2). The ultimate product, Ap-SF-TP@Au NCs, results from a three-step process. This process involves the myogenic synthesis of TP@Au NCs derived from TP mycelial extract, encapsulation of SF on TP@Au NCs (SF-TP@Au NCs), and the conjugation of Ap within SF-TP@Au NCs. The synthesized NCs are analyzed by various characteristic techniques. Ap-SF-TP@Au NCs induced potential cell death in HepG2 cells but exhibited no cytotoxicity in non-cancerous cells (NIH3T3). The morphological changes in cells were examined through various biochemical staining methods. Thus, Ap-SF-TP@Au NCs emerge as a promising nanocomposite for treating diverse cancer cells.

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Funding

The authors extend their appreciation to the Researchers Supporting Project number (RSP2024R98), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry, Vivekanandha College of Arts and Sciences for Women (Autonomous), Elayampalayam, Tiruchengode, Namakkal, Tamil Nadu, 637205, India

    Poorni Kaliyappan Elayappan & Kavitha Kandasamy

  2. Department of Biochemistry, K.S.Rangasamy College of Arts and Science, Tiruchengode, Namakkal, Tamil Nadu, 637215, India

    Vadivukkarasi Sasikumar

  3. Center for Bioinformatics, Department of Biochemistry, Karpagam Academy of Higher Education, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, 641021, India

    Muruganantham Bharathi

  4. Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, P. O. Box. 2455, 11451, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Abdurahman Hajinur Hirad & Abdullah A. Alarfaj

  5. Department of Chemistry, Saveetha School of Engineering, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences (SIMATS), Saveetha University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 602 105, India

    Palanisamy Arulselvan

  6. Preclinical Department, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kuala Lumpur, Royal College of Medicine Perak (UniKL-RCMP), 30450, Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia

    Ravindran Jaganathan & Rajeswari Ravindran

  7. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Nanophotonic Functional Materials and Devices, School of Information and Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, China

    Jagadeesh Suriyaprakash

  8. Department of Chemistry, CHRIST (Deemed to Be University), Bangalore, 560029, India

    Indumathi Thangavelu

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  1. Poorni Kaliyappan Elayappan
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  2. Kavitha Kandasamy
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  3. Vadivukkarasi Sasikumar
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  4. Muruganantham Bharathi
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  6. Abdullah A. Alarfaj
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  7. Palanisamy Arulselvan
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  8. Ravindran Jaganathan
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  9. Rajeswari Ravindran
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  10. Jagadeesh Suriyaprakash
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  11. Indumathi Thangavelu
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Correspondence to Indumathi Thangavelu.

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Elayappan, P.K., Kandasamy, K., Sasikumar, V. et al. Facile engineering of aptamer-coupled silk fibroin encapsulated myogenic gold nanocomposites: investigation of antiproliferative activity and apoptosis induction. Biotechnol Lett (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10529-024-03491-2

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