title: Cytotoxic activity of biosynthesized gold nanoparticles with an extract of the red seaweed Corallina officinalis on the MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Nano-biotechnology is recognized as offering revolutionary changes in the field of cancer therapy and biologically synthesized gold nanoparticles are known to have a wide range of medical applications.
  
  
  METHODS
  Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) were biosynthesized with an aqueous extract of the red alga Corallina officinalis, used as a reducing and stabilizing agent. GNPs were characterized using UV-Vis spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive analysis (EDX) and Fourier transform infra-red (FT-IR) spectroscopy and tested for cytotoxic activity against human breast cancer (MCF-7) cells cultured in Dulbecco's modified Eagle medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum, considering their cytotoxicty and effects on cellular DNA.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The biosynthesized GNPs were 14.6 ± 1 nm in diameter. FT-IR analysis showed that the hydroxyl functional group from polyphenols and carbonyl group from proteins could assist in formation and stabilization. The GNPs showed potent cytotoxic activity against MCF-7 cells, causing necrosis at high concentrations while lower concentrations were without effect as indicated by DNA fragmentation assay.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The antitumor activity of the biosynthesized GNPs from the red alga Corallina officinalis against human breast cancer cells may be due to the cytotoxic effects of the gold nanoparticles and the polyphenolcontent of the algal extract.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hydrobiology, National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Alexandria, Egypt E-mail : halayassin12@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Hala Yassin
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: El-Kassas
authors.forename: Mostafa M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: El-Sheekh
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D053938:DNA Fragmentation / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D006046:Gold / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D061986:MCF-7 Cells; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000461:Rhodophyta / Q000378:metabolism; D012624:Seaweed / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D010936:Plant Extracts; D006046:Gold