High cytotoxic activity of ZnO@leucovorin nanocomposite based materials against an MCF-7 cell model

In the current work, we design a multifunctional hybrid nanocomposite for treating MCF-7 cell lines, which act as a model for breast cancer cells, to overcome the serious side-effects of chemotherapy treatment pathways. ZnO was designed within the nanoscale range using simple wet chemical pathways and via adding TWEEN as a pore directing agent. ZnO@leucovorin was exploited by confining the ZnO nanoparticles within the cavities and across the surface of the leucovorin drug through the Stöber process from mechanical coating. Various characterization techniques were used to confirm the structure and morphology of the obtained composite material. Furthermore, the inhibition (%) activity of different scavenging radicals, the DPPH, GPx, SOD and ABTS assays commonly performed to characterize the antioxidant activity, was measured. The obtained results show a high antioxidant activity associated with the hybrid material compared to the pure leucovorin itself. Additionally, ZnO@leucovorin displays a high potent cytotoxicity against MCF-7, established using annexin V-flow cytometry. Subsequently, a gene expression study provided information about the growth factor reduction of the HER-2 gene, which in turn has an effect on the apoptotic death of the cancer cells. In addition, RO measurement exploits the rate of oxygen release inside the cell, and showed a suitable and healthy range after 3 days of treatment compared to that in other studies.