Application of Oil-in-Water Nanoemulsion Carrying Size-Defined Gold Nanoparticles Synthesized by Non-thermal Plasma for the Human Breast Cancer Cell Lines Migration and Apoptosis

Abstract

In this work, the gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were synthesized using pulse-modulated radio-frequency atmospheric pressure glow discharge (pm-rf-APGD). By tailoring selected operating parameters of the pm-rf-APGD reaction-discharge system, the experimental conditions for the synthesis of raw-AuNPs with controlled optical and structural properties were found. The colloidal suspension of the size-controlled raw-AuNPs was mixed with an aqueous solution of gelatine and turmeric oil to produce an oil-in-water (O/W) nanoemulsion. AuNPs loaded into the nanoemulsion were characterized using ultraviolet-visible absorption spectrophotometry, dynamic light scattering, scanning electron microscopy supported by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy equipped with selected area X-ray diffraction. Additionally, attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy was used to confirm the efficient functionalization of the AuNPs by nanoemulsion component. It was revealed that AuNPs were mostly spherical with an average size of 4.6 ± 1.0 nm and a face-centered cubic crystal system. The developed O/W nanoemulsion carrying AuNPs was applied towards the human breast cancer cell lines MCF7 and MDA-MB-231. It was found that it exhibited the cytotoxicity towards the breast cancer cells while were non-cytotoxic towards the non-tumour breast cells MCF10A. Moreover, it also inhibited the migration of the invasive cancer breast cells (line MDA-MB-231) and hence, could prevent the breast cancer metastasis. Keywords Cold atmospheric pressure plasma • Pulse-modulated radio-frequency atmospheric pressure glow discharge • Nanomaterials • Cytotoxicity Abbreviations ATR FT-IR Attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy AuNPs Gold nanoparticles CAPP Cold atmospheric pressure plasma * Anna Dzimitrowicz

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“…In contrast to the CAPP-based methods suitable for stationary metallic nanostructures' synthesis that were developed and applied by other research groups [62][63][64][65][67][68][69][70][71][72], in the proposed method, the metallic nanostructures are being continuously produced in a flow mode (Figure 8). This highly efficient production of metallic nanostructures is associated with the character of the developed reaction-discharge system, employing as a CAPP source either the direct current atmospheric pressure glow discharge (dc-APGD) [73][74][75][76][77][79][80][81][82][83] or pulse-modulated radio-frequency atmospheric pressure glow discharge (pm-rf-APGD) [78,84]. In our studies, the dc-APGD was generated between either the pin-type tungsten electrode [75,76,77,[79][80][81]83] or Ar nozzle [73,74,82] This highly efficient production of metallic nanostructures is associated with the character of the developed reaction-discharge system, employing as a CAPP source either the direct current atmospheric pressure glow discharge (dc-APGD) [73][74][75][76][77][79][80]…”

“…This highly efficient production of metallic nanostructures is associated with the character of the developed reaction-discharge system, employing as a CAPP source either the direct current atmospheric pressure glow discharge (dc-APGD) [73][74][75][76][77][79][80][81][82][83] or pulse-modulated radio-frequency atmospheric pressure glow discharge (pm-rf-APGD) [78,84]. In our studies, the dc-APGD was generated between either the pin-type tungsten electrode [75,76,77,[79][80][81]83] or Ar nozzle [73,74,82] This highly efficient production of metallic nanostructures is associated with the character of the developed reaction-discharge system, employing as a CAPP source either the direct current atmospheric pressure glow discharge (dc-APGD) [73][74][75][76][77][79][80][81][82][83] or pulse-modulated radio-frequency atmospheric pressure glow discharge (pm-rf-APGD) [78,84]. In our studies, the dc-APGD was generated between either the pin-type tungsten electrode [75][76][77][79][80][81]83] or Ar nozzle…”

“…In our studies, the dc-APGD was generated between either the pin-type tungsten electrode [75][76][77][79][80][81]83] or Ar nozzle [73,74,82] and the surface of flowing liquid electrode, being a NPs' precursor solution introduced to the designed reaction-discharge systems. On the other hand, the pm-rf-APGD was generated between the pin-type tungsten electrode and the surface of the flowing liquid electrode [78,84]. Since dc-APGD operation led to emit the positive ions or electrons, depending on the polarity of applied electrodes [68], the surface of resulted nanostructures is charged [75], which might exclude the addition of capping agents to the NPs precursor solution [75].…”

“…Typically, the stabilizers are added to this solution in order to preclude the aggregation, agglomeration, and sedimentation of the further obtained nanostructures [74]. Up until now, the synthesized with the aid of CAPP metallic nanostructures were stabilized by using sodium citrate [70], sucrose [71], fructose [64,67,79,85], gelatin [73][74][75]77,82,84], sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) [68,69,83], hexadecyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC) [62], polyvinyl alcohol [63], poly(vinylpyrrolidone) [65,81], pectins [78,83], and (11-mercaptoundecyl)-N,N,N-trimethylammonium chloride (TMA) alkanethiol [80]. On the other hand, when a stabilizer is not added to the NPs' precursor solution, the resultant nanostructures might be well dispersed in the solution because of their electrostatic stabilization [73,86].…”

“…Moreover, comparing the catalytic activity of the materials obtained by using the developed approaches with other research in which the dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) was employed to reduce the Ag(I) ions to Ag(0) in order to obtain Ag-TiO 2 NC [72] for the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blues, as well as in the eradication of the Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus microorganisms [72], suggests that the NCs synthesized by our research group may reveal extended application beyond catalysis and heat management. In order to extend the applications of the nanostructures obtained by using CAPP technologies in the biomedical field, we have prepared an oil-in-water (O/W) nanoemulsion, consisting of the size-defined raw-AuNPs, produced by using pm-rf-APGD (as a CAPP source), turmeric oil, and gelatin [84]. Basically, the biomedical applications are associated with developing new and useful tools, dedicated to apply them to living beings.…”