Combined Synthesis of Cerium Oxide Particles for Effective Anti-Bacterial and Anti-Cancer Nanotherapeutics

INTRODUCTION: Kochiae Fructus has been widely used in Chinese Herbal medicine to treat various diseases. We report a rapid and eco-friendly approach for cerium oxide (CeO(2)) nanoparticles (NPs) synthesis using the extract of medicinally important plant “Kochiae Fructus”, and the synthesized NPs were named KF-CeO(2) NPs. METHODS: Various spectroscopic approaches such as transmission electron microscope (TEM), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), and energy-dispersive X-Ray (EDX) were used to characterize the KF-CeO(2) NPs effectively. The antibacterial and biofilm inhibition activity of KF-CeO(2) NPs against Gram-positive and Gram-negative multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacteria was determined using the serial dilution method and XTT assay. KF-CeO(2) NPs were assessed for anticancer activity against HeLa cancer cells using an MTT assay. Cytobiocompatibility was determined in two normal cell lines (3T3 and hMSC). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The average size of the KF-CeO(2) NPs was 11.3 ± 3.9 nm with spherical morphology. KF-CeO(2) NPs demonstrated a greater than 95% bactericidal efficacy against MDR microorganisms. In addition, KF-CeO(2) NPs strongly suppressed (more than 79%) the biofilms of MDR bacteria, indicating their potential for addressing antibiotic resistance issues. Compared to Kochiae Fructus extract and CH-CeO(2) NPs, they exhibited significant cytotoxic effects (35.60% cell viability) on HeLa cancer cells. In addition, the KF-CeO(2) NPs were shown to be highly biocompatible with hMSC and 3T3 cell lines (85.13% and 81.17% cell viability, respectively), suggesting that they may be employed in biological systems. CONCLUSION: These data indicate that KF-CeO(2) NPs synthesized using Kochiae Fructus extract are promising alternative treatments for MDR. In addition, this study will give the potential for the sustained development of biocompatible NPs with enhanced biological capabilities derived from vital pharmaceutical plants.