Biopreparation of cerium oxide nanoparticles using alginate: Characterization and estimation of antioxidant and its activity against breast cancer cell lines (MCF7)

Cerium is an important element whose various biomedical properties have been proven. The purpose of the current study was to fabricate cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeO-NPs) using alginate and to investigate their anti-oxidant properties and cytotoxicity against breast cancer cells and human skin fibroblasts. Cerium oxide nanoparticles were first synthesized using alginate, and their characteristics were then determined using XRD, FESEM, DLS, and FITR techniques. The antioxidant capacity of the prepared nanoparticles was measured using the DPPH biochemical method, and cytotoxicity was measured by the MTT method. Also, DAPI staining and annexin PI staining via flow cytometry were used to determine the type of cell death. Our findings indicated that the synthesized nanoparticles had IC50 values of 174, 32.5, and 16.07 µg/mL against the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line at 24, 48, and 72 h after treatment, respectively. Cell cycle assessment via flow cytometry revealed that the nanoparticles affected the ratio of the cells entering the apoptotic phase, supported by DAPI staining results showing the apoptotic activity of the synthesized nanoparticles. In conclusion, our results suggest that CeO-NPs can be considered as potential anti-cancer agents, and they are recommended to be further investigated in animal studies.