Functionalized Boron Nanoparticles as Potential Promising Antimalarial Agents

Abstract

Boron nanoparticles (BNPs), functionalized with hydroxyl groups, were synthesized <i>in situ</i> by a cascade process, followed by bromination and hydrolyzation reactions. These functionalized BNPs, (B <i>_m</i> (OH) <i>_n</i> ), were characterized using ¹H and ¹¹B NMR spectra, Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) methods. These nanoparticles were also evaluated <i>in vitro</i> for their antimalarial activity against <i>Plasmodium falciparum</i> (3D7 strain) with an IC₅₀ value of 0.0021 μM and showed low toxicity to Uppsala 87 malignant glioma (U87MG) cell lines, malignant melanoma A375 cell lines, KB human oral cancer cell lines, rat cortical neuron cell lines, and rat fibroblast-like synoviocyte (FLS) cell lines.