In vitro Studies
on the Selective Cytotoxicity of Gold Nanoparticle-Prodigiosin Formulation against
Cancer Cells
Sreelakshmi M.R., Geenat Paul, Mathew Dani M. and Dhanya K.C.
Res. J. Biotech.; Vol. 21(1); 269-275;
doi: https://doi.org/10.25303/211rjbt2690275; (2026)
Abstract
Prodigiosin is a secondary metabolite produced by different bacterial species including
Serratia, actinomycetes, a few marine bacteria etc. This red-colored tripyrrole
pigment possesses several pharmacological activities such as anticancer, antimicrobial,
antimalarial and antialgal effects. Even though Serratia marcescens is more commonly
recognized as a major producer of prodigiosin, in the present work, Serratia rubidaea
isolated from leftover coconut was used to obtain Prodigiosin. Since it is already
known that the hydrophobic nature of Prodigiosin limits its medical and biotechnological
applications, efforts were made to formulate a Gold nanoparticle-prodigiosin Formulation
(Au-Prod).
Anticancer activity of the Au-Prod against different mouse cancer cells, such as
Dalton's Lymphoma Ascites (DLA) and Ehrlich Ascites Carcinoma (EAC) cells was done
using the trypan blue dye exclusion method. The extent of apoptosis was determined
using the apoptotic index. The results indicated significant anticancer activity
while showing the least toxicity toward normal cells as shown by the results of
cytotoxicity analysis in mouse splenocytes.
