Sesuvium sesuvioides (Fenzl) Mediated Synthesis of Zinc Oxide and Copper Oxide Nanoparticles and Their Potential Cytotoxic and Apoptotic Effects

Sesuvium sesuvioides (Fenzl) Verdc. Has a promising biological activity as an anticancer agent. In the present investigation, the methanol extract of Sesuvium sesuvioides was used to mediate and coat both ZnO and CuO nanoparticles. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by infrared (IR), UV-Visible spectra, field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD). The findings showed that, the extract has bound to the metal oxide forming both zinc and copper oxides coated with the extract. Hexagonal ZnO and monoclinic CuO were formed with calculated particle sizes of 6 and 13 nm, respectively. The cytotoxic activity of the nanoparticles was evaluated by testing and comparing the viability of four cell lines (HepG2, HeLa, WI38 and WISH). Apoptosis was evaluated by cell cycle analysis, annexin-V and diphenylamine assay (DPA). MTT assay indicated that ZnONPs exhibited more antiproliferative activity than CuONPs with less inhibitory effects against normal cell lines (WISH and WI38). Whereas, CuONPs have more antigrowth effects against WISH normal cells. ZnONPs caused cell cycle arrest for HepG2 at G1/S phases, while ZnONPs caused cell cycle arrest only at S phase for HeLa, and DPA assay supported the results.