Original Research Paper Vitis vinifera peel polyphenols stabilized gold nanoparticles induce cytotoxicity and apoptotic cell death in A431 skin cancer cell lines J. Grace Nirmala a , S. Akila b , R.T. Narendhirakannan a,⇑ , Suvro Chatterjee b a Department of Biotechnology, School of Biotechnology and Health Sciences, Karunya University (Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences), Karunya Nagar, Coimbatore 641 114, Tamil Nadu, India b Life Sciences Division, AU-KBC Research Centre, Madras Institute of Technology, Anna University, Chromepet, Chennai (Madras) 600 044, India article info Article history: Received 13 October 2016 Received in revised form 20 January 2017 Accepted 2 February 2017 Available online 16 February 2017 Keywords: Vitis vinifera peel Apoptosis Cytotoxicity A431 cell lines Gold nanoparticles abstract Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are considered beneficial in the field of biomedicine and in the development of therapeutic nanomedicine products. In the present study, Vitis vinifera. L (grapes) peel polyphenols were utilized as reducing and stabilizing agents for the biosynthesis of gold nanoparticles, and their cyto- toxicity and apoptotic effects were assessed. The synthesized gold nanoparticles were characterized using UV-Visible spectroscopy, Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Particle size distribution, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and zeta potential analysis. TEM analysis confirmed that the nanoparticles were spherical with 20–40 nm in size. Particle size distribution revealed 50 ± 5 nm nanoparticles and FTIR confirmed the presence of polyphenols capped onto the peel gold nanoparticles. The V. vinifera peel gold nanoparticles were studied for their antiproliferative activi- ties and induction of apoptosis at the inhibitory concentration (IC 50 ) of 23.6 mM. A431 cell lines incubated with V. vinifera peel gold nanoparticles for 24 h exhibited cytotoxicity activity mediated by increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, apoptotic morphological changes and loss of membrane poten- tial significantly (p < 0.01). Thus, the cytotoxicity of the gold nanoparticles could be attributed to the syn- ergistic effects of the phenolic moieties of the V. vinifera peels and the efficiency of the bioconjugated gold nanoparticles causing apoptosis and secondary necrosis. Ó 2017 The Society of Powder Technology Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. and The Society of Powder Technology Japan. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Skin is occupationally or accidentally exposed to a number of carcinogens and mutagens. In all newly detected cancers in the world, skin cancer accounts for 30% [1,2] and around 1.2 million new skin cancer cases are diagnosed in USA every year [3]. Skin cancer accounts for 1–2% of all cancers in India [4]. Oxidative stress in the skin can be the cause of skin cancer leading to DNA damage that includes DNA base damage, cross linking between proteins and DNA as well as single and double strand breaks of DNA [5]. Chemotherapy is the primary goal to kill skin cancer cells and yet another secondary goal is to make to those cells die by apopto- sis so that the neighboring phagocytic cells may clear it quickly and quietly [6]. But chemotherapy for skin cancer has met with limited success due to the inefficient systemic delivery and bioavailability of these agents [7]. Hence, experimental studies on skin cancer chemoprevention are still continued to synthesize novel pharmaceutical agents which are nontoxic to normal cells with improved efficacy and specificity [8]. In the treatment and detection of cancer in its early stage, nan- otechnology has large potential owing to the class of nanoparticles size exerting toxic potential [9,10]. Nanoparticles show unprece- dented interactions with biomolecules on the surface and inside the body cells leading to cancer diagnosis and treatment [11,12]. Nanoparticles also might show toxic potential when encapsulated with other agents [13,14]. Gold is used for its therapeutic purposes from 2500 BC [15] and was the choice of treatment for syphilis, arthritis, psoriasis, epilepsy and rheumatic diseases [16–20]. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are one of the most extensively used engi- neered nanomaterials in the field of biomedical therapeutics and bioimaging because of their intense surface plasmon resonance [21,22]. In comparison with other metal nanoparticles, gold nanoparticles are characterized by their unique chemical, physical, biological properties and functional activities [23–25]. The proper- ties of the nanoparticles depend on their size and shape [26,27]. AuNPs have a strong binding affinity to thiols, amines and disul- fides facilitating conjugation with biomolecules like antibodies http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apt.2017.02.003 0921-8831/Ó 2017 The Society of Powder Technology Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. and The Society of Powder Technology Japan. All rights reserved. ⇑ Corresponding author. Fax: +91 422 2615615. E-mail address: rtnkannan@karunya.edu (R.T. Narendhirakannan). Advanced Powder Technology 28 (2017) 1170–1184 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Advanced Powder Technology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apt