Photophysical characterization, biocompatibility and anticancer studies of green fabricated copper doped zirconium...

In an attempt to make the best out of waste, we have utilised shade-dried flower aqueous extract, Clitorea ternatea, to synthesise nanoparticles and apply them to the biomedical field. Cancer treatment has faced many obstacles due to resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs and radio-resistance. Alternative palliative therapy can pave the way for this limitation. Copper-doped zirconia nanoparticles were synthesised in this present study, using Clitorea ternatea flower aqueous extract, and were characterised using UV-vis spectrophotometry, dynamic light scattering, zeta potential analysis, XRD, FTIR, SEM, and EDX. The size of the nanoparticles, as revealed by SEM, was in the range of 87-150 nm, and the zeta potential was - 19 mV, showing their nano size and moderate stability, respectively. Further, the biocompatibility was assessed using in vitro cell viability and haemolysis assay. The nanoparticles were found to be biocompatible up to a dose of 50 μg/mL. These nanoparticles have also shown antioxidant activity as well as cervical cancer cell-killing activity. The IC 50 for SiHa cells was found to be 23.8 μg/mL. The outcome of this study indicated that Cu-ZrO₂-CT nanoparticles can be a promising candidate to be used along with conventional therapy to address cervical cancer. However, further studies are warranted using other cancer cell lines, as well as tumour models in animals.