Green synthesis of Nerium oleander-conjugated gold nanoparticles and study of its in vitro anticancer activity on MCF-7 cell lines and catalytic activity

The phytochemicals present in the stem bark extract of Nerium oleander (commonly known as Karabi) have been utilized for the green synthesis of stable gold-conjugated nanoparticles at room temperature under very mild conditions. The green synthesized gold-conjugated nanoparticles were characterized by surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy, High resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction studies and dynamic light scattering. A mechanism for the synthesis and stabilization of gold-conjugated nanoparticles (AuNPs) has been proposed. Anticancer activity of the stabilized AuNPs studied against MCF-7 breast cancer cell line revealed that the stabilized AuNPs were highly effective for the apoptosis of cancer cells selectively. The antioxidant activity of the stem bark extract of Nerium oleander has also been studied against a long lived 2,2-diphenylpicrylhydrazyl radical at room temperature. Moreover, the utilization of the stabilized AuNPs as a catalyst has also been demonstrated. [Image: see text] ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s40580-018-0142-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.