Please cite this article in press as: K. Rajendran, et al., Int. J. Biol. Macromol. (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2014.12.028 ARTICLE IN PRESS G Model BIOMAC 4791 1–6 International Journal of Biological Macromolecules xxx (2014) xxx–xxx Contents lists available at ScienceDirect International Journal of Biological Macromolecules j ourna l h o mepa ge: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijbiomac Biosynthesis of hematite nanoparticles and its cytotoxic effect on HepG2 cancer cells Kumar Rajendran a , Vithiya Karunagaran a , Biswanath Mahanty b , Shampa Sen a,∗ Q1 a Industrial Biotechnology Division, School of Bio Sciences and Technology, VIT University, Vellore 632 014, Tamil Nadu, India b Department of Environmental Engineering, INHA University, Incheon, Republic of Korea a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 11 November 2014 Received in revised form 9 December 2014 Accepted 10 December 2014 Available online xxx Keywords: Hematite nanoparticles Biosynthesis Bacillus cereus SVK1 Anticancer activity a b s t r a c t Iron oxide nanoparticles were gaining significant importance in a variety of applications due to its paramagnetic properties and biocompatibility. Various chemical methods were employed for hematite nanoparticle synthesis which require special equipment or a complex production process. In this study, protein capped crystalline hexagonal hematite (-Fe 2 O 3 ) nanoparticles were synthesized by green approach using culture supernatant of a newly isolated bacterium, Bacillus cereus SVK1 at ambient conditions. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by electron microscopy, X-ray diffrac- tion, UV-visible spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic analysis. Nanoparticles were evaluated for its possible anticancer activity against HepG2 liver cancer cells by MTT assay. Hematite nanoparticles with an average diameter of 30.2 nm, exhibited a significant cytotoxicity toward HepG2 cells in a concentration-dependent manner (CTC 50 = 704 ng/ml). © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction World Health Organization estimated that the cancer cases are Q3 expected to rise to 22 million by 2030. Commercially available cyto- toxic drugs which are used for the treatment of cancer patients are not only expensive but also have several side effects such as ane- mia and cellular resistance [1–3]. Considerable number of research has focused on the development and uses of biocompatible anti- cancer drugs with reduced side effects and site-specific targeted delivery vehicles with excellent control over stability, permeabil- ity, drug half-life, release characteristics and immunogenicity [4]. Nanoparticle based carrier may be an excellent anticancer drug delivery module due to their extremely small size and high perme- ability that facilitates to evade first-pass metabolism and increasing efficacy [5,6]. In addition, nanoparticles show anticancer activity possibly through conversion of near-infrared radiation to vibra- tional energy, generating sufficient heat to kill selective cancer cell [7]. Iron oxide nanoparticles especially magnetite and hematite have occupied a unique place in nanoscience and nanotechnology as they are excellently stable under ambient conditions, biocom- patible, chemically active and possess magnetic properties [8]. ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 979 0493264; fax: +91 416 2243092. Q2 E-mail address: shampasen@vit.ac.in (S. Sen). Spherical hematite nanoparticles (<14 nm) has shown to exhibit super-paramagnetic properties [9,10]. Hematite nanoparticles find potential applications in lithium ion batteries, gas sensors [11], photo anode in photo-electrochemical cells [12], magnetic storages [13], contrast reagents/drug delivery [14], field effect transistor [15], photo-electrolysis reactors [16], fine ceramics, pigments [17] and catalysts [18]. Magnetic iron oxide nanoparticle finds its rou- tine use as a contrast agent for targeting organs [19]. Commonly used methods for the preparation of hematite nanoparticles include template assisted synthesis [20], forced hydrolysis of Fe(III) solution [21], sol–gel method [22], hydro- thermal treatment [23] and vapor–solid growth techniques [24]. Surface of iron oxide nanoparticles were also modified for effective biomedical applications [14,25]. Although these chemical-based methods have their own advantages, they have many drawbacks too. First of all, these methods are not economical and are difficult to scale up which require special equipment or a complex produc- tion process. The use of various solvents in chemical synthesis of the nanoparticles and toxic byproducts which are produced during this course make it unfit for biomedical applications. Thus, a green synthesis approach is better. Many microorganisms are capable of synthesizing metal nanoparticles either in intracellular or extracellular form [26]. Bio- genic iron oxide nanoparticles were formed by biologically induced or biologically controlled method [27]. However, the amount of bio- genic iron oxide produced by the biologically controlled method http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2014.12.028 0141-8130/© 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67