Counterion coupled (COCO) gemini surfactant capped Ag/Au alloy and Ag@Au core-shell nanoparticles for cancer therapy

Hybrid silver (Ag)-gold (Au) nanoparticles (NPs) with different sizes and compositions were synthesized. Ag/Au alloy and Ag@Au core-shell type NPs were prepared from Ag and Au with various ratios using the COCO gemini surfactant, 1,6-bis (N,N-hexadecyldimethylammonium) adipate (COCOGS), 16-6-16 as a stabilizer. The formation of the Ag/Au alloy and Ag@Au core-shell was confirmed by UV-visible absorption spectroscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) patterns. Depending on the composition of the Ag/Au alloy NPs, the λ _max values varied from 408 nm to 525 nm. FTIR measurements were used to evaluate the adsorption of the COCO gemini surfactant (16-6-16) on the Ag/Au alloy and Ag@Au core-shell surface. In this present work, we study how to achieve the stability and activity of the COCO gemini surfactant (16-6-16) capped Ag/Au alloy and Ag@Au core-shell NPs for developing novel anti-cancer agents by evaluating their potentials in the Hep-2 cell line model. Thus the developed core-shell NPs were possibly involved in inducing cytotoxicity followed by inhibition of cell proliferation to the cancer cells with apoptosis induction. The developed core-shell NPs might serve as highly applicable agents in the development of next-generation cancer chemotherapeutic agents.