A comparative screening of Biocompatible Arsenic Trioxide Nanoparticles on Cancer Cell Lines

Abstract

Arsenic compounds have been a part of traditional Chinese medicines and have also been extensively used in the western world as remedial agents for severe conditions. In particular, arsenic trioxide (As2O3), one of the trivalent arsenics is predominantly well-known for its anticancer properties. It has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a standard agent for the treatment of relapsed and refractory acute promyelocytic leukemia. However, owing to its limitations that include toxicity, gastrointestinal upset, tachycardia etc. further limits its wide clinical application. Hence, the aim of the current work was to synthesize biocompatible form of As2O3.Further, exploring the advantages of nanoscale dimensions; we believed that nanoparticulate formulations of As2O3 would have minimum side effects as compared to the bulk drug. Also, to address the toxicity issue, we envisaged that coating the NPs with biological agents would further help in curbing this issue. Additionally, we anticipate that the biological coating may also enhance the stability of the NPs. Hence, in the current study, As2O3 nanoparticles (As2O3 NPs), were synthesized, coated with human serum albumin (HSA) and folic acid (FA), and were found to be more stable and biocompatible as compared to bare As2O3 nanoparticles. newlineCharacterization techniques were employed to confirm the nanoparticulate form as well as its coating. For the same, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy studies were performed that helped reveal successful coating of As2O3 with the coating agents. Further, the charge was understood by zeta potential studies, the arsenic content was determined by inductive coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES), size and morphology was studied using transmission electron microscopy (TEM).