Green Synthesis
of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles incorporated with Berberine Exhibits Potent Anticancer
and Antimigratory activity Against Lung Cancer Cells (A549, H460 cells) and Normal
Cells (HEK-293)
Malchi Suresh, Kodiganti Naresh Kumar, Sakthivel Manju Bargavi, Devarajan Nalini
and Tharani Munusamy
Res. J. Biotech.; Vol. 20(10); 199-205;
doi: https://doi.org/10.25303/2010rjbt1990205; (2025)
Abstract
Traditional therapies for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are often limited by
high economic burden, dose-limiting toxicity and a substantial reduction in patients’
quality of life. To counteract these issues, we synthesized an eco-friendly berberine-incorporated
iron-oxide nanoparticle (BR-IONPs) from an aqueous extract of P. amarus. The plant-mediated
synthesis of nanoparticles was confirmed using UV–Visible spectroscopy, TEM, which
confirmed the structural and morphological properties of nanoparticles. Anticancer
activity on HEK-293 cells demonstrated minimal cytotoxicity in IONPs, BR and BR-IONPs
whereas cisplatin exhibited high toxicity.
Notably, the berberine incorporated iron oxide nanoparticles (BR-IONPs) showed strong
and selective cytotoxicity against A549, H460 NSCLC cells, with significantly lower
toxicity than that of the individual components including cisplatin. A scratch-wound
assay also confirmed that the (BR-IONPs) inhibited A549, H460 cell migration significantly,
indicating their antimigratory ability. Collectively, these in vitro results suggest
that green-synthesized BR-IONPs offer higher therapeutic value compared to the traditional
chemotherapeutic drug cisplatin. Subsequent in vivo experiments are required to
identify its pharmacokinetics, systemic toxicity and antitumour activity before
proceeding towards preclinical development. Further studies on cell signalling and
apoptosis are needed to understand how BR-IONPs trigger cancer cell death.
