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. 2021 Jun 29;6(27):17353-17361.
doi: 10.1021/acsomega.1c01467. eCollection 2021 Jul 13.

Facile Synthesis of Zn-Doped Bi2O3 Nanoparticles and Their Selective Cytotoxicity toward Cancer Cells

Maqusood Ahamed  1 , Mohd Javed Akhtar  1 , M A Majeed Khan  1 , ZabnAllah M Alaizeri  2 , Hisham Alhadlaq  1   2
Affiliations

Facile Synthesis of Zn-Doped Bi2O3 Nanoparticles and Their Selective Cytotoxicity toward Cancer Cells

Maqusood Ahamed et al. ACS Omega. .

Abstract

Bismuth (III) oxide nanoparticles (Bi2O3 NPs) have shown great potential for biomedical applications because of their tunable physicochemical properties. In this work, pure and Zn-doped (1 and 3 mol %) Bi2O3 NPs were synthesized by a facile chemical route and their cytotoxicity was examined in cancer cells and normal cells. The X-ray diffraction results show that the tetragonal phase of β-Bi2O3 remains unchanged after Zn-doping. Transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy images depicted that prepared particles were spherical with smooth surfaces and the homogeneous distribution of Zn in Bi2O3 with high-quality lattice fringes without distortion. Photoluminescence spectra revealed that intensity of Bi2O3 NPs decreases with increasing level of Zn-doping. Biological data showed that Zn-doped Bi2O3 NPs induce higher cytotoxicity to human lung (A549) and liver (HepG2) cancer cells as compared to pure Bi2O3 NPs, and cytotoxic intensity increases with increasing concentration of Zn-doping. Mechanistic data indicated that Zn-doped Bi2O3 NPs induce cytotoxicity in both types of cancer cells through the generation of reactive oxygen species and caspase-3 activation. On the other hand, biocompatibility of Zn-doped Bi2O3 NPs in normal cells (primary rat hepatocytes) was greater than that of pure Bi2O3 NPs and biocompatibility improves with increasing level of Zn-doping. Altogether, this is the first report highlighting the role of Zn-doping in the anticancer activity of Bi2O3 NPs. This study warrants further research on the antitumor activity of Zn-doped Bi2O3 NPs in suitable in vivo models.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
XRD spectra of pure and Zn-doped Bi2O3 NPs.
Figure 2
Figure 2
TEM characterization. (A) Low-resolution TEM image of pure Bi2O3. (B) Low-resolution TEM image of 3% Zn–Bi2O3 NPs. (C) High-resolution TEM image of pure Bi2O3. (D) High-resolution TEM image of 3% Zn–Bi2O3 NPs.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Elemental composition of 3% Zn–Bi2O3 NPs by EDS.
Figure 4
Figure 4
SEM characterization. (A–C) SEM images of pure Bi2O3, 1% Zn–Bi2O3, and 3% Zn–Bi2O3 NPs, respectively. (D) EDS spectra of 3% Zn–Bi2O3 NPs.
Figure 5
Figure 5
SEM elemental mapping of 3% Zn–Bi2O3 NPs. (A) SEM image and (B) bismuth, (C) oxygen, and (D) zinc mapping.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Photoluminescence spectra of pure and Zn-doped Bi2O3 NPs.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Cytotoxicity of pure and Zn-doped Bi2O3 NPs in human lung A549 (A) and liver HepG2 (B) cancer cells. *p < 0.05 vs control.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Cytotoxicity of pure and Zn-doped Bi2O3 NPs in primary rat hepatocytes. *p < 0.05 vs control.
Figure 9
Figure 9
ROS level (A) and caspase-3 enzyme activity (B) in A549 cells, HepG2 cells, and primary rat hepatocytes following exposure to 50 μg/mL of 3% Zn–Bi2O3 NPs for 24 h. The H2O2 was used as the positive control (PC). *p < 0.05 vs control.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Possible mechanisms of selective cytotoxicity of Zn-doped Bi2O3 NPs in cancer and normal cells.
Figure 11
Figure 11
Schematic diagram of Zn-doped Bi2O3 NP preparation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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