Synthesis and cytotoxicity analysis of fatty acid-mediated maghemite nanoparticles in cancerous and normal cells

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 1. Medical Genetics Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran 2. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran

2 1. Pharmaceutical Research Center, Pharmaceutical Technology Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran 2.Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

3 1. Neuroscience Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran 2. Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

4 1. Medical Genetics Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran 2. Metabolic Syndrome Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

5 Antimicrobial Resistance Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

6 1- Metabolic Syndrome Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran 2-Medical Genetics Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

Abstract

Objective(s): Our goal was to synthesize and characterize fatty acid-capped maghemite nanoparticles (NPs) and evaluate their cytotoxic effect on human cancer and normal cell lines.
Methods: Maghemite NPs were synthesized by co-precipitating iron (II) chloride tetrahydrate and iron (III) chloride hexahydrate, followed by surface capping with monounsaturated fatty acid, named oleic acid (OA). The particles were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), vibrating-sample magnetometer (VSM), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The cytotoxicity of the capped NPs was assessed using an MTT assay.
Results: XRD analysis confirmed the formation of highly crystalline maghemite NPs with a cubic structure and an estimated crystallite size of approximately 9 nm. FE-SEM and TEM images revealed semi-spherical and cuboidal particles with an average size of 14 nm. EDS analysis confirmed the presence of iron, oxygen, carbon, and gold elements. VSM analysis demonstrated a saturation magnetization value of about 51 emu/g, while FTIR confirmed the successful capping of maghemite NPs with OA. The MTT assay showed that the NPs exhibited no cytotoxic effects on CaSki or HUVEC cells, even at the highest 50 µg/mL concentration.
Conclusion: The synthesized OA-capped maghemite NPs exhibited promising superparamagnetic properties with no significant cytotoxic effects on human cancer or normal cell lines, suggesting potential applications in biomedicine.

Keywords

References

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Nanomedicine Journal
Volume 12, Issue 3
July 2025
Pages 518-528

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