Danışman-Kalındemirtaş, Ferdane; Kariper, İ. Afşin; Üstündağ, Hilal; Özsoy, Ceylan; Erdem-Kuruca, Serap

Breast cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women, and researchers are seeking more effective treatments. Nanotechnology offers a promising approach by creating nanocarriers to reduce the side effects of cancer drugs. This study synthesized AgNPs-5FU nanoparticles by binding the anticancer drug 5-fluorouracil (5FU) to a silver nanocarrier, significantly increasing 5FU's cytotoxicity. Characterization using DLS, SEM, UV-Vis, and FTIR confirmed the nanoparticles' properties, with a size of 18–28 nm and a PDI of 0.598. The release of 5FU from AgNPs-5FU was about 70%, demonstrating sustained and controlled release. Cytotoxicity results showed that AgNPs-5FU had an IC50 value of 23.006 in MCF-7 cells and 10.41 in 4T1 cells, making it 2.14 and 4.64 times more effective than free 5FU, respectively. Low cytotoxicity was observed in HUVEC cells. This study indicates that AgNPs-5FU has significantly higher potential activity against cancer cells compared to free 5FU.

Danışman-Kalındemirtaş, Ferdane; Erdem-Kuruca, Serap; Cilasun, Gökçe Erdemir; Sert, Esra; Özerkan, Dilşad; Demirci, Tülay Bal; Ülküseven, Bahri; Kariper, İshak Afşin

Thiosemicarbazones and their analogues are of significant interest due to their antiviral, antibacterial and anticancer properties. Recent advancements in nanoparticle-based therapeutics have enabled targeted cancer cell treatment while minimizing harm to healthy cells. This study focused on encapsulating patented N(1)-R1-salicylidene-N(4)-R2-salicylidene-S-methylisothiosemicarbazone complexes into albumin nanocarriers, creating albumin-bound Fe(III)-S-methyl-thiosemicarbazone (ALB-FeTc) nanoparticles via a novel UV-C lamp-assisted method. The nanoparticles were characterized using FTIR, UV-Vis, DLS and EDX-SEM. Cytotoxicity was evaluated in MCF-7 breast cancer cells and HUVEC cells using an MTT assay. Fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry were employed to investigate the mechanism of cell death. The study demonstrated strong cytotoxicity of FeTcs against cancer cells, with enhanced effects observed for ALB-FeTcs. The ALB-FeTcs induced apoptosis selectively in cancer cells while sparing normal cells. These results suggest that ALB-FeTcs are promising candidates for breast cancer treatment.

Ay, Ebru Nur; Caner, Armağan; Özsoy Hepokur, Ceylan; Danişman Kalindemirtaş, Ferdane; Özen Eroğlu, Güneş; Kariper, İ. Afşin

The aim of this work was to investigate the antiproliferative and pro-apoptotic effects of propolis on human breast cancer cells using a simple and inexpensive nanoformulation. Various methods were used to characterize the surface and morphology of propolis nanoparticles (NP-Pro), including UV-VIS, FTIR, DLS, and EDX-SEM. The cytotoxic activity of MCF-7, MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells was measured by XTT technique and compared with healthy cells (MCF-10A). The apoptotic effect of NP-Pro was assessed by flow cytometry using Annexin/PI. The IC50 values of NP-Pro on MCF-7, MDA-MB-231 and MCF-10A cells were 13.67 ± 0.89, 17.89 ± 0.6, 29.9 ± 0.56 µg, respectively. According to these findings, the NP-Pro form we prepared was more cytotoxic on cancer cells than propolis. Cancer cells had much stronger apoptotic activity than healthy cells (p < 0.0001). In this work, NP-Pro was produced through a distinct, straightforward, and low-cost method. In summary, the NP-Pro we synthesized may be a promising potential agent for breast cancer treatment due to its specific cytotoxicity via apoptosis.

Kariper, İshak Afşin; Hepokur, Ceylan; Danışman-Kalındemirtaş, Ferdane; Kuruca, Serap Erdem

In the present study, we synthesized carbon nanoparticles with a different method using chitosan, a natural polymer. As a result, carbon nanomaterials were diffused directly through the intestinal membrane, and carbon nanoparticles were obtained. Surface and chemical characterizations of the obtained carbon nanoparticles were determined by different techniques such as FTIR, DLS, SEM, EDX, and UV-visible. Moreover, the cytotoxic effects of the carbon nanoparticles on Saos-2, MCF-7 cancer cells, and HUVEC non-cancerous cells were evaluated with the MTT test. Although the size of these carbon nanoparticles is not as small as carbon nanodots, these nanoparticles were very effective on cancer cells. Interestingly, our results showed that drug-free carbon nanoparticles were remarkably cytotoxic on MCF-7 and Saos-2 cancer cells. In addition, 5FU loaded carbon nanoparticles (IC50: 12 µg/mL) were 3.5 times more effective than 5FU alone (IC50: 43 µg/mL) on MCF-7 cell lines.