Photococatalytic anticancer performance of naked Ag/AgCl nanoparticles

Ag/AgCl as a plasmonic photocatalyst has an excellent performance in dye degradation, but its photocatalytic ability in cancer therapy has not been well researched. Hence, we synthesized bio-compatible and surfactant-free Ag/AgCl nanoparticle to investigate their photocatalytic efficacy. AgCl can be oxidized by FeCl3 on the surface of Ag nanoparticles (NPs), which will naturally form a Schottky junction. Thus, Ag as a co-catalyst can easily trap the photo-generated charge carriers and then provide free electrons, which will decrease the influence of the recombination process and increase photocatalytic efficacy. Besides that, the light irradiation will stimulate the surface plasmon resonance of Ag nanoparticle, which can enhance visible light absorption by the material. Our photocatalyst can generate Reactive oxygen species (ROS) which generate oxidative stress to cellular systems and result in apoptosis. Compared to pure Ag nanoparticle, AgCl coated on Ag nanoparticle has a larger range of working wavelength and higher photocatalytic efficacy, moreover, it has less dark cytotoxicity than pure AgCl nanoparticle based on our results. The photocatalytic efficacy of Ag/AgCl nanoparticle can eliminate over 75% HeLa cells under 30 min of light irradiation.