Green fabrication of silver nanoparticles using leaf extract of tropical vine <i>Momordica charantia</i> : spectral characterization and <i>in vitro</i> cytotoxicity evaluation on human breast cancer cells

Abstract

The use of environmental materials such as plant extract for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) offers numerous benefits of eco-friendliness and compatibility for pharmaceutical and other biomedical Applications. In this study, we used Momordica charantia leaf extract as a reducing agent for the synthesis of AgNPs. Characterization of the AgNPs was done by UV-Visible Spectroscopy, FTIR, SEM, TEM and EDX. Furthermore, we established the in vitro anticancer efficacy of these nanoparticles against the human breast cancer cell line MCF-7 using MTT assay, nuclear morphology testing, and staining. In addition to the above, the anti-bacterial effect was also tested against a range of bacterial isolates using well-diffusion method. These AgNPs also demonstrated impressive results when tested for their free-radical scavenging efficiency on the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line, indicating future potential for their use in medicine. These findings indicated the possible applicability of biosynthesized AgNPs derived from Momordica charantia L.