Cytotoxic Activity of Cu/TiO₂ Nanoparticles on Uterine-Cervical Cancer Cells

Abstract

Nanoparticles based on metal oxides serve as carrier matrices for molecules of biological interest. In this work, we used different copper complexes that were coupled to TiO₂ nanoparticles. Nanoparticles were prepared with the sol-gel method. The Cu/TiO₂ nanoparticles were characterized through ultraviolet-visible and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, nitrogen physisorption analysis, and scanning electron microscopy. Their biological activity was determined through DNA degradation and their cytotoxic effect on HeLa cells. The Cu/TiO₂ nanoparticles presented a pore size between 2 and 6 nm, the size of nanoparticles agglomerates was between 100 and 500 nm. The nanoparticles of Cu/TiO₂ degraded DNA starting at 15 min. The half maximal inhibitory concentration in HeLa cells depends on the used cooper complexes, the kinetics of cell death is of first order. Results revealed that these nanoparticles could be applied in uterine-cervical cancer treatment.