Assessment of Toxicity of Selenium Nanoparticle Varnish Using HepG2 Cell Lines: In vitro Study

Abstract

Selenium, an essential trace element, plays an important role in mammalian biology. Selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) have gained significant importance because of its bioavailability, least toxicity, its interaction with proteins and its biocompatibility. The objective of the present study is to assess the cytotoxicity of SeNPs by testing on HepG2 cell line. The cytotoxicity of nanoparticles on HepG2 cell line was studied by MTT assay. Cytotoxicity was determined using Graph pad prim5 software. The SeNPs showed cytotoxic activity against HepG2 cell line with 77%, 63% and 33.7% of cell viability at 2μg/ ml, 4μg/ml and 30μg/ml concentration respectively. Biogenic SeNPs exhibited cytotoxic activity against the HepG2 cell line and hence warrants further research regarding its biosafety and potential oral antimicrobial agent.