A meta-analysis assessing the cytotoxicity of nanoparticles on MCF7 breast cancer cells

Abstract

The present study summarizes the current available literature regarding the viability of MCF7 breast cancer cells treated with gold (Au), silver (Ag) or zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles at varying doses for 48 h. The data for this study were obtained from diverse research articles published between 2013 and 2023 using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 guidelines. The evaluation focused on 20 PRISMA-compliant articles concerning MCF7 cells, yielding 137 outcome measures for meta-analysis. A generalized linear mixed model meta-analysis approach was employed to glean insights into the effects of novel nanoparticles on MCF7 breast cancer cells. The analysis covered a wide range of concentrations: Ag nanoparticles from 1.25 to 1,000 μg/ml, Au nanoparticles from 50 to 150 μg/ml, and ZnO nanoparticles from 1 to 1,000 μg/ml. Both intra-nanoparticle and inter-nanoparticle comparisons were conducted to detect differences. The findings showed that when concentrations reached or exceeded 60 μg/ml, considerable variation of cell viability was observed: Treatment with Ag nanoparticles resulted in cell viability ranging from 9 to 45%, ZnO nanoparticles resulted in cell viability ranging from 20 to 40%, and Au nanoparticles resulted in cell viability ranging from 3 to 58%. These findings indicated the significance of thoroughly exploring nanoparticle dosage to acquire a comprehensive understanding of their influence on cell viability.