Enhanced cytotoxicity of phyto-synthesized silver oxide nanostructures loaded with bleomycin sulfate for anticancer application

Biomaterials-based innovative targeted anticancer drug delivery systems with enhanced efficacy and limited side effects are highly required for effective monotherapy. The current work is an attempt to establish a novel bleomycin sulfate-loaded silver oxide nanostructures (AgONS-BLM) by using Mentha spicata-mediated synthesized silver oxide nanostructures (AgONS) and anticancer drug bleomycin sulfate (BLM) for potential anticancer applications. The cytotoxicity of Bleomycin sulfate loaded silver oxide nanostructures (AgONS-BLM) was assessed against breast cancer (MCF-7), Rhabdomyosarcoma (RD), and normal mouse embryonic fibroblast (NIH 3T3) cell lines by MTT and live/dead cell staining assays. At 0.09 mg/mL concentration of bleomycin, the synthesized AgONS-BLM nanostructure exhibited 93 % drug encapsulation efficiency with moderate stability as indicated by −24 mV zeta potential. Moreover, the synthesized AgONS-BLM nanostructure released 90 % and 79 % of the drug-loaded at pH 5 and 7.5, respectively. Furthermore, at 0.08 mg/ml concentration of AgONS-BLM, the viability of MCF-7 and RD cell lines reduced to 42 % and 44 %, respectively. The cytotoxic effect of AgONS-BLM was more pronounced as compared to bleomycin and AgONPs, alone. In addition, the cytotoxic effect of AgONS-BLM was more potent towards cancerous cells than normal cells in a dose-dependent manner. The preliminary results suggest that AgONS-BLM might be a promising anticancer drug delivery system for effective oncotherapy and further in vivo investigation of its potential anticancer applications is required.