Purpose The phospholipids from plant origins play an important role in different techniques, especially in drug delivery applications. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of liposomes prepared from plant origin as a cheap source of lipids as drug carriers. Methods Soy lecithin liposomes (SLP) were prepared and loaded with doxorubicin (DOX) to use as a drug delivery system. DOX was used as the model drug and DOX/SLP was successfully combined. The characteristics of these liposomes, zeta potential, size distribution, drug encapsulation efficiency (EE%), drug release, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were checked followed by in vitro study. The cytotoxicity study by using free DOX and DOX/SLP is done on Mcf-7, human breast cancer as a cell line. Results The optimal DOX/SLP formulation had a mean size of 342 nm, a negative zeta potential of −22.3 mV, the loaded DOX/SLP showed EE% (83.68%), and a drug release profile of 35 h, all are recorded. Cytotoxicity assay showed that the IC50 of DOX/SLP is smaller than that of free DOX. Conclusion These results give evidence of the efficacy of using drug carriers from plant origin combined with drugs to increase the effective therapies against cancer medically and economically. Graphical Abstract

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death which attracted the attention of the scientific world to search for efficient methods for treatment. With the great development and regeneration of nanotechnology over the last 25 years, various nanoparticles in different structures, shapes and composites provide good potential for cancer therapy. The purpose of this study aims to investigate the effect of Copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) as a drug model for cancer treatment either in their free form or encapsulated in Soy lecithin liposomes (SLP) from plant origin as a cheap source of lipids. CuNPs were by the chemical reduction method then loaded to SLP through the thin film hydration method. The drug model Cu/SLP was successfully combined. The characteristics of the free CuNPs, liposomes, and the combined form, zeta potential, size distribution, drug encapsulation efficiency (EE%), drug release profile, Fourier transform Infrared (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were checked followed by in vitro study on breast cancer cell line Mcf-7 as a model for cytotoxicity evaluation. The optimal Cu/SLP had a particle mean size of 81.59 ± 14.93 nm, a negative zeta potential of -50.7 ± 4.34 mV, the loaded CuNPs showed EE% of 78.9%, and a drug release profile for about 50% of the drug was released after 6 h, and FTIR analysis are recorded. The cytotoxicity assay showed that the IC50 of Cu/SLP is smaller than that of free CuNPs. These results give clear evidence of the efficacy of using the combined Cu/SLP than CuNPs alone as a model drug carrier prepared from plant origin against cancer medically and economically.

We have studied the photocatalytic performance of ZnO, Er:ZnO, hybrid Ag/ZnO, and Ag/Er:ZnO colloidal nanoparticles (NPs) synthesized by pulsed laser ablation of stoichiometric targets and silver plate in double distilled water. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed the polycrystalline structure of the ablated NPs. The morphology of the nanoparticles was examined by the transmission electron microscope (TEM). The optical properties of the prepared colloidal NPs were investigated by the UV-visible absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopies. The photodegradation of the Rhodamine 6G organic dye was utilized to evaluate the photocatalytic activity of the produced colloidal NPs under illumination by UV light. The hybrid Ag/Er:ZnO colloidal NPs showed enhanced photodegradation efficiency of 96.4%, after 45 min of UV irradiation, compared to 79.7% of the pristine ZnO NPs. The obtained results point out the enhancing effect of the dopants on the photocatalytic performance of ZnO, and further demonstrate the pulsed laser ablation of bulk materials in pure water as a fast and eco-friendly technique for producing efficient nanoparticle photocatalysts.