Camellia sinensis Extract Mediated Synthesis of Fe₃O₄ Magnetic Nanoparticles for pH-Responsive Targeted Breast Cancer Therapy

Objectives

One challenge in treating breast cancer is that there are not enough drug delivery systems that can both target tumors specifically and have their own pharmacological effects.

Materials and Methods

This study prepared Fe₃O₄ Magnetic Nanoparticles (Cs-MNPs) from a one-pot aqueous reaction using Camellia sinensis leaf extract as both reducing agent and surface stabiliser.

Results

Particles were rod-shaped with dimensions of 30-80 nm verified by FTIR spectroscopy and SEM. Antioxidant testing gave DPPH IC₅₀ 85.4±2.3 µg mL^-1. BSA thermal denaturation was suppressed by 78.2±1.8% at 50 µg mL^-1. The synthesized Nps demonstrated inhibition IC₅₀ values of 58.4±1.7 µg mL^-1 for α-amylase and 47.6±1.8 µg mL^-1 for α-glucosidase indicating effective enzyme inhibition. Drug release at pH 5.5 reached 72.3% at 24 hr versus 41.6% at pH 7.4. MCF-7 cell viability assay returned IC₅₀ 19±0.7 µg mL^-1 and apoptosis was confirmed by AO/EtBr staining.

Conclusion

The Cs-MNP system is worth exploring as a green theranostic material.