Plant-based synthesis of cerium oxide nanoparticles as a drug delivery system in improving the anticancer effects of free temozolomide in glioblastoma (U87) cells

Nowadays, nanocarriers were proven to contain the potential of improving cancer treatments and are utilized to carry anticancer medications to tumors. In this study, cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeO2-NPs) were synthesized by using Caccinia macranthera leaf extract as the stabilizer and reducer agent, as well as cerium nitrate salt as the supplier source of cerium. The synthesized CeO2-NPs were analyzed through different procedures such as UV–Vis, FTIR, FESEM/EDX/PSA, XRD, XPS, and TGA/DTA. The outcomes of XRD and FTIR analyses confirmed the synthesis of pure and crystalline structures of CeO2-NPs. The average size and zeta potential of our nanoparticles were about 30 nm and −18.5 mV, respectively. According to the results of XPS analysis, the percentage of Ce4+ was more than that of the Ce3+ oxidation state in synthesized NPs. The CeO2-NPs were loaded with Temozolomide (TMZ) as an anti-cancer drug through electrostatic interaction and the produced nano-drug (CeO2-TMZ) was delivered to glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) tumor cells. In conformity to the observations, the drug loading content (DLC) and drug loading efficiency (DLE) of CeO2-TMZ were about 89.10 and 20.29, respectively. In comparison to the TMZ drug, the in vitro assay exhibited the exertion of higher antiproliferative activities, cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, and expression of p53 by CeO2-TMZ, which proves the promising capability of this drug as a remedial factor for cancer treatment.