Biosynthesis of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles: Physico-Chemical Characterization and Their In Vitro Cytotoxicity on Healthy and Tumorigenic Cell Lines.

Iron oxide nanoparticles were synthesized starting from two aqueous extracts based on L. leaf and stems, employing a simplest, eco-friendliness and low toxicity method-green synthesis. The nanoparticles were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF), thermal analysis (TG/DSC), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Lack of magnetic properties and the reddish-brown color of all the samples confirms the presence of hematite as majority phase. The FTIR bands located at 435 cm and 590 cm, are assigned to Fe-O stretching vibration from hematite, confirming the formation of α-FeO nanoparticles (NPs). The in vitro screening of the samples revealed that the healthy cell line (HaCaT) presents a good viability (above 80%) after exposure to iron oxide NPs and lack of apoptotic features, while the tumorigenic cell lines manifested a higher sensitivity, especially the melanoma cells (A375) when exposed to concentration of 500 µg/mL iron oxide NPs for 72 h. Moreover, A375 cells elicited significant apoptotic markers under these parameters (concentration of 500 µg/mL iron oxide NPs for a contact time of 72 h).