Calcium phosphate nanoparticles (CPNPs) are presently emerging as a second generation vector for efficient delivery and stabilization of nucleic acids inside cells, although the detailed mode of interaction between CPNPs and DNA is still obscure. This study discloses some features of the interaction. For this study, we synthesized CPNPs by a modified co-precipitation method and characterized the particles by different techniques such as dynamic light scattering, X-ray diffraction, electron dispersive spectroscopy, Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy, differential thermal and thermo-gravimetric analysis, and atomic force, scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The characterization studies showed that the nanoparticles were spherical in shape, about 45 nm in size and were composed of the hydroxyapatite form of calcium phosphate; almost 90% of the starting materials were converted to nanoparticles (NPs). The different aspects of the interaction between CPNPs and salmon testis DNA were investigated using techniques such as UV-Vis spectrophotometry, circular dichroism, Fourier transform infra-red spectrometry, thermal denaturation, microviscometry, agarose gel electrophoresis, cyclic voltammetry and atomic force microscopy. The results revealed that CPNPs interacted with DNA with ~1 : 3.3 stoichiometry with a binding constant of the order of 10(4) M(-1) through groove-interacting mode and a single nanoparticle covered about 6.2 base pairs of the DNA chain. Moreover, the binding interaction was spontaneous, cooperative, exothermic and enthalpy-driven and some electrostatic nature of the binding was also evident; however, the non-polyelectrolyte contribution was dominant. The binding interaction finally caused an increase in the melting temperature of DNA from 70.8 °C to 75 °C and alteration of its secondary structure from the naturally occurring B-form to C-form.

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A simple method of synthesis of a stable bimetallic copper-silver nano-particle (CuAg-NP) was developed by successive reduction of Cu(NO) and AgNO, using hydrazine hydrate as the reducing agent and gelatin and poly-vinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) as the capping agents. The round-shaped particles were of a core-shell structure with a core of Cu atoms surrounded by a shell of Ag atoms. The size and the mol. wt. of the NPs were (100 ± 10) nm and (820 ± 157) Kd, respectively; the particles were crystalline in nature and 90% of the precursors Cu(NO) and AgNO were converted to the NPs. The particles were more toxic to cancer cells than normal cells; the dose of the NPs (4-5 μg ml), that killed about 75% of the different human cancer cell lines viz, HepG2 (liver cancer), A549 (lung cancer) and AGS (stomach cancer), killed only about 22.5% of the normal cell lines viz, WRL68 (liver) and WI38 (lung). Therefore, the NP may be developed as a potent anticancer drug in future. The more detailed study on the cytotoxicity of the CuAg-NP on the HepG2 cell line revealed that the particles caused cell cycle arrest in a G2/M phase, depolarization of mitochondrial membrane potential, translocation of phosphatidylserine residues from inner to outer leaflets of cell membrane and DNA degradation; these phenomena confirmed that the NP-induced cell death was apoptotic in nature.