Fabrication of Calcium Sulfate Coated Selenium Nanoparticles and Corresponding In-Vitro Cytotoxicity Effects Against 4T1 Breast Cancer Cell Line

BACKGROUND: The inhibitory effect of selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) on cancer cells has been reported in many studies. In this study, the purpose was to compare the in vitro effects of SeNPs and calcium sulfate coated selenium nanoparticles (CaSO(4)@SeNPs) on breast cancer cells. METHODS: CaSO(4)@SeNPs and SeNPs were chemically synthesized and characterized with Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). By applying MTT assay, the cytotoxicity effect of both nanomaterials on the 4T1 cancer cells was investigated. RESULTS: While LD(50) of SeNPs on 4T1 cancer cells was 80 μg, the LD(50) of CaSO(4)@SeNPs was reported to be only 15 μg. The difference between the inhibition rates obtained for SeNPs and CaSO(4)@SeNPs was statistically significant (p=0.05). In addition, at higher concentrations (50 μg) of CaSO(4)@SeNPs, the cytotoxicity was 100% more than SeNPs alone. CONCLUSION: According to the result of the present work, it can be concluded that decoration of SeNPs with calcium sulfate leads to an increase in potency by decreasing the effective dose. This effect can be attributed to activation of intrinsic apoptosis signaling and/or pH regulatory properties of CaSO(4)@SeNPs. However, further studies are still needed to determine the exact corresponding mechanisms of this synergistic effect.