Reduction of cell growth and induction of apoptosis in osteosarcoma cells by silver nanoparticles

In the present studysynthesis of silver nanoparticles and the assessment of its toxicity against the proliferation of osteosarcoma cells were done.
To confirm the production of silver nanoparticles, UV-Visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and TEM analyses were performed. MTT assay was used to evaluate the toxicity of nanoparticles against cancer cells. The induction of apoptosis was indicated by acridine orange-ethidium bromide staining and flow cytometry (sub-G1).
Based on surface plasmon absorbance, silver nanoparticles exhibited a specific peak at 408 nm, indicating the synthesis of silver nanoparticles. TEM showed that the nanoparticles had a cubic shape with the mean diameter of 65.5 nm. Furthermore, XRD analyses revealed the synthesized nanoparticles had high crystallinity with 55 nm crystalite size. According to the MTT assay, nanoparticles can decrease the viability of Saos-2 cells in a dose dependent manner. IC50 value corresponding to silver nanoparticles was estimated 21.1 µg/ml. Moreover, the effect of nanoparticles on tumor cells was accompanied by the cellular uptake of nanoparticle, cell cycle arrest at G2 phase, and induction of cell death with mode of apoptosis.
Since silver nanoparticles can reduce the proliferation of Saos-2 cells and to eradicate them by induction of apoptosis, these nanoparticles can be taken as a candidate for treating osteosarcoma cells.