Crystalline Gold nanoparticles adjusted by carboxymethyl cellulose and citrate salt: Fabrication, characterization, and in vitro anticancer activity

A simple route was introduced for the preparation of crystalline Gold Nanoparticles (Au NPs) in the size range of 4 to 22 nm, using sodium salt of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and citrate salt. These stabilizers act as reducing factors and size-adjuster to dominate nanogold particle assemblage. The fabricated Au NPs were entirely described applying diverse instrumental methods such as Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV–Visible spectroscopy, and Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), in addition to the particle size distribution analysis. The anti-proliferative activity of the nanogold Au/CMC was evaluated against ovarian cancer (SKOV-3) and triple-negative breast cancer (MDA-MB-231) cell lines using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and cisplatin as standard drug. Interestingly, Au/CMC stabilized by citrate ions exhibited a superior anticancer activity than cisplatin and induced several morphological changes to the SKOV-3 and MDA-MB-231. Collectively, these results point to a promising anticancer activity of Au/CMC which in turn needs further investigation using a wider arsenal of cancer cell lines and animal models.