Antiproliferative Potential of Biosynthesized Gold Nanoparticles in HepG2 Liver Cancer Cells
Keywords:
gold nanoparticles, anticancer, nanotechnology, antiproliferation, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Liver CancerAbstract
OBJECTIVE: To assess the anticancer potential of biologically synthesized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) through in vitro evaluation, elucidate their antiproliferative mechanisms, and examine their effects on the Hep G2 cell line.
METHODOLOGY: Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were biologically synthesized using the fungus Aspergillus terreus at the Microbiology Lab, IMBB Department, The University of Lahore. These nanoparticles were characterized to determine their size using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The IC50 of the synthesized AuNPs was evaluated using the MTT assay, which measures cell viability. A scratch assay was performed to assess wound-healing capacity. Additionally, gene expression was analysed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the antiproliferative effects of AuNPs in the HepG2 liver cancer cell line.
RESULTS: X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with a size range of 18 ± 29 nm, while Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) measured them at 13 ± 8 nm. The AuNPs demonstrated significant anticancer activity against the Hep G2 cell line, as evidenced by cytotoxicity assays and qPCR analysis of altered gene expression patterns.
CONCLUSION: Biologically synthesized gold nanoparticles exhibit potent anticancer effects, suggesting their potential as an alternative therapeutic approach for liver cancer. Further investigations are necessary to elucidate their precise mechanisms of action and assess their clinical applicability.
References
1. Harun-Ur-Rashid M, Jahan I, Foyez T, Imran AB. Bio-inspired nanomaterials for micro/nanodevices: a new era in biomedical applications. Micromachines. 2023; 14(9): 1786.
2. Kesharwani P, Ma R, Sang L, Fatima M, Sheikh A, Abourehab MA et al. Gold nanoparticles and gold nanorods in the landscape of cancer therapy. Mol Cancer. 2023; 22(1): 98.
3. Javid H, Oryani MA, Rezagholinejad N, Hashemzadeh A, Karimi-Shahri M. Unlocking the potential of RGD-conjugated gold nanoparticles: a new frontier in targeted cancer therapy, imaging, and metastasis inhibition. J Mater Chem B. 2024.
4. Hammami I, Alabdallah NM. Gold nanoparticles: Synthesis, properties, and applications. J King Saud Univ Sci. 2021; 33(7): 101560.
5. Esmailzadeh F, Taheri-Ledari R, Salehi MM, Zarei-Shokat S, Ganjali F, Mohammadi A et al. Bonding states of Gold/Silver plasmonic nanostructures and sulfur-containing active biological ingredients in biomedical applications: a review. Phys Chem Chem Phys. 2024.
6. Wikantyasning ER, Wibowo HA. Application of gold nanoparticle-based colorimetric methods in virus detection: a narrative review. In: Proceedings of the 4th International Conference Current Breakthrough in Pharmacy (ICB-Pharma 2022). Atlantis Press; 2022. p. 14–28.
7. Garg P, Malhotra J, Kulkarni P, Horne D, Salgia R, Singhal SS. Emerging therapeutic strategies to overcome drug resistance in cancer cells. Cancers (Basel). 2024; 16(13): 2478.
8. Maqbool T, Awan SJ, Malik S, Hadi F, Shehzadi S, Tariq K. In-vitro antiproliferative, apoptotic and antioxidative activities of medicinal herb Kalonji (Nigella sativa). Curr Pharm Biotechnol. 2019; 20(15): 1288–1308.
9. Özdemir ÖÜ, Yurt K, Pekta? AN, Berk ?. Evaluation and normalization of a set of reliable reference genes for quantitative sgk-1 gene expression analysis in Caenorhabditis elegans-focused cancer research. Nucleosides Nucleotides Nucleic Acids. 2024; 1-20.
10. Hadi F, Awan SJ, Tayyeb A, Maqbool T, Shehzadi S, Malik S et al. Hepato-protective role of itraconazole mediated cytochrome P450 pathway inhibition in liver fibrosis. Pak J Pharm Sci. 2020; 33: 1–9.
11. Kalsoom A, Altaf A, Ashraf M, Ali MM, Aftab S, Sattar H et al. In vitro evaluation of cytotoxic potential of Caladium lindenii extracts on human hepatocarcinoma HepG2 and normal HEK293T cell lines. Pak J Pharm Sci. 2022; 35(1): 1–9.
12. Lodhi MS, Khan MT, Aftab S, Samra ZQ, Wang H, Wei DQ. A novel formulation of theranostic nanomedicine for targeting drug delivery to gastrointestinal tract cancer. Cancer Nanotechnol. 2021; 12: 1–27.
13. Qian S, Wei Z, Yang W, Huang J, Yang Y, Wang J. The role of BCL-2 family proteins in regulating apoptosis and cancer therapy. Front Oncol. 2022; 12: 985363.
14. Jiang N, Dai Q, Su X, Fu J, Feng X, Peng J. Role of PI3K/AKT pathway in cancer: the framework of malignant behavior. Mol Biol Rep. 2020; 47(6): 4587–4629.
15. Torres DG, Paes J, da Costa AG, Malheiro A, Silva GV, Mourão LPDS et al. JAK2 variant signaling: genetic, hematologic and immune implication in chronic myeloproliferative neoplasms. Biomolecules. 2022; 12(2): 291.
16. Omokehinde TN. GP130 regulation of breast cancer signaling and bone dissemination [dissertation]. Nashville (TN): Vanderbilt University; 2022.
17. Mishra RC, Kalra R, Dilawari R, Goel M, Barrow CJ. Bio-synthesis of Aspergillus terreus-mediated gold nanoparticles: antimicrobial, antioxidant, antifungal and in vitro cytotoxicity studies. Materials (Basel). 2022; 15(11): 3877.
18. Abid F, Saleem M, Muller CD, Asim MH, Arshad S, Maqbool T et al. Antiproliferative and apoptosis-inducing activity of Acacia modesta and Opuntia monocantha extracts on HeLa cells. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2020; 21(10): 3125–3133.
19. Ahmad I, Maqbool T, Naz S, Hadi F, Atif M. Apoptotic potential of geranyl acetate in HepG2 liver cancer cells. Int J Appl Exp Biol. 2023; 2(2): 89–96.
20. Kurmi BD, Patel P, Paliwal R, Paliwal SR. Molecular approaches for targeted drug delivery towards cancer: a concise review with respect to nanotechnology. J Drug Deliv Sci Technol. 2020; 57: 101682.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Journal of Liaquat University of Medical & Health Sciences
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Submission of a manuscript to the journal implies that all authors have read and agreed to the content of the undertaking form or the Terms and Conditions.
When an article is accepted for publication, the author(s) retain the copyright and are required to grant the publisher the right of first publication and other non-exclusive publishing rights to JLUMHS.
Articles published in the Journal of Liaquat University of Medical & health sciences are open access articles under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial - Share Alike 4.0 License. This license permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium; provided the original work is properly cited and initial publication in this journal. This is in accordance with the BOAI definition of open access. In addition to that users are allowed to remix, tweak and build upon the work non-commercially as long as appropriate credit is given and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms. Or, in certain cases it can be stated that all articles and content there in are published under creative commons license unless stated otherwise.
