Anticancer activity of zinc oxide nanoparticles on prostate and colon cancer cell line

Considering the numerous drug resistance in cancer and the advancement of science in nanomedicines, it was decided to compare the effectiveness of zinc oxide nanoparticles in colon and prostate cell lines. Considering the importance of factors and Oxidative stress pathways in cancer prevention, the aim of the study is based on oxidative stress mechanisms.

In order to evaluate the effects of zinc oxide nanoparticles on colon and prostate cell lines, oxidative stress factors ROS, MDA, and GSH and mitochondrial function were evaluated. The data was analyzed with Prism v8 software, and the significance level was considered to be P < 0.05.

The results showed that nanoparticles induce ROS and reduce intracellular glutathione by destroying and disrupting mitochondrial function, and by increasing ROS production, damage to the lipid membrane and an increase in MDA were also evident. This effect was dose-dependent and the greatest at a concentration of 25 μg/mL. Also, ZnO nanoparticles performed better in the HT29 cell line than in the PC3 cell line.

This study showed that exposure of HT29 and PC3 cancer cells to zinc oxide nanoparticles at different concentrations inhibited growth by cytotoxic effects.