Biological effect of silver-modified nanostructured titanium dioxide in cancer

Abstract

Background/Aim: Nanomedicine is a promising scientific field that exploits the unique properties of innovative nanomaterials, providing alternative solutions in diagnostics, prevention and therapeutics. Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2NPs) have a great spectrum of photocatalytic antibacterial and anticancer applications. The chemical modification of TiO2optimizes its bioactive performance. The aim of this study was the development of silver modified NPs (Ag/TiO2NPs) with anticancer potential. Materials and Methods: Ag/TiO2NPs were prepared through the sol-gel method, were fully characterized and were tested on cultured breast cancer epithelial cells (MCF-7 and MDAMB-231). The MTT colorimetric assay was used to estimate cellular viability. Western blot analysis of protein expression along with a DNA-laddering assay were employed for apoptosis detection. Results and Conclusion: We show that photo-activated Ag/TiO2NPs exhibited significant cytotoxicity on the highly malignant MDA-MB-231 cancer cells, inducing apoptosis, while MCF-7 cells that are characterized by low invasive properties were unaffected under the same conditions.