Novel ZnO:Ag nanocomposites induce significant oxidative stress in human fibroblast malignant melanoma (Ht144) cells

• Syeda Arooj,
• Samina Nazir,
• Akhtar Nadhman,
• Nafees Ahmad,
• Bakhtiar Muhammad,
• Ishaq Ahmad,
• Kehkashan Mazhar and
• Rashda Abbasi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 570–582, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.59

• . The NPs were investigated with regard to their different photocatalytic cytotoxic effects in human malignant melanoma (HT144) and normal (HCEC) cells. The ZnO:Ag nanocomposites killed cancer cells more efficiently than normal cells under daylight exposure. Nanocomposites having higher Ag content (10

• nanocomposites could provide a new therapeutic option to selectively target cancer cells. Keywords: cancer therapy; cytotoxicity; photo-oxidation; ZnO:Ag nanocomposites; Introduction Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) exhibit an excellent photo-oxidation activity [1] and are considered as potential

• photocatalytic decomposition process is slow and needs to be improved [24]. Therefore, it is interesting to enhance their photocatalytic ability and anticancer activity by forming nanocomposites with other materials, including metal ions such as silver (Ag) or iron (Fe) ions [25]. The ZnO:Ag nanocomposites