Fabrication of α-Fe₂O₃ Nanostructures: Synthesis, Characterization, and Their Promising Application in the Treatment of Carcinoma A549 Lung Cancer Cells

Abstract

In the present work, iron nanoparticles were synthesized in the α-Fe 2 O 3 phase with the reduction of potassium hexachloroferrate(III) by using l -ascorbic acid as a reducing agent in the presence of an amphiphilic non-ionic polyethylene glycol surfactant in an aqueous solution. The synthesized α-Fe 2 O 3 NPs were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, dynamic light scattering, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and ultraviolet–visible spectrophotometry. The powder X-ray diffraction analysis result confirmed the formation of α-Fe 2 O 3 NPs, and the average crystallite size was found to be 45 nm. The other morphological studies suggested that α-Fe 2 O 3 NPs were predominantly spherical in shape with a diameter ranges from 40 to 60 nm. The dynamic light scattering analysis revealed the zeta potential of α-Fe 2 O 3 NPs as −28 ± 18 mV at maximum stability. The ultraviolet–visible spectrophotometry analysis shows an absorption peak at 394 nm, which is attributed to their surface plasmon vibration. The cytotoxicity test of synthesized α-Fe 2 O 3 NPs was investigated against human carcinoma A549 lung cancer cells, and the biological adaptability exhibited by α-Fe 2 O 3 NPs has opened a pathway to biomedical applications in the drug delivery system. Our investigation confirmed that l -ascorbic acid-coated α-Fe 2 O 3 NPs with calculated IC 50 ≤ 30 μg/mL are the best suited as an anticancer agent, showing the promising application in the treatment of carcinoma A549 lung cancer cells.

In Situ Biosynthesis of Reduced Alpha Hematite (α-Fe2O3) Nanoparticles by Stevia Rebaudiana L. Leaf Extract: Insights into Antioxidant, Antimicrobial, and Anticancer Properties

“…Our result coincides with previously published results [ 38 , 39 ]. Additionally, the single and strong peak at 390 nm in the UV/Vis absorption spectrum confirmed that the SRLe -αFe 2 O 3 NPs had a spherical shape, similar to the findings of Kumar et al (2022) [ 40 ].…”