Synthesis of new ultrasonic-assisted palladium oxide nanoparticles: an in vitro evaluation on cytotoxicity and DNA/BSA binding properties.

Better solubility and improved toxicity of palladium complexes compared with cisplatin were major reasons for synthesis of novel Pd(II) complex, [Pd(8Q)(bpy)]NO ₃ (8Q=8-hydroxyquinolinate, bpy=2,2'-bipyridine). Interaction between the [Pd(8Q)(bpy)]NO ₃ complex and calf thymus DNA in aqueous solution has been investigated by circular dichroism (CD), UV-Visible absorption and fluorescence spectroscopic techniques. These experiments showed that prepared Pd(II) complex can effectively intercalate into CT-DNA and weakly bind to BSA in which the bovine serum albumin molecule was unfolded slightly. The cytotoxicity of the prepared complex has been evaluated on the MCF-7 and DU145 cell lines by MTT and TUNEL assay. The MTT results were showed that in DU145, the CC ₅₀ values of [Pd(8Q)(bpy)]NO ₃ and cisplatin are very close together (10.4 and 8.3 μM, respectively), unlike MCF-7. Accordingly, TUNEL assay was performed on DU145 and apoptosis was clearly obvious by 43% DNA fragmentation in the treated cell lines. So, we can suggest the [Pd(8Q)(bpy)]NO ₃ as alternative drug for cisplatin in the future which has great potential in DNA denaturation and apoptosis specially on prostate cancer. PdO nanoparticles were successfully prepared without supported any surfactants via sonochemical approach. The synthesized PdONPs were characterized using UV-Vis and FTIR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), dynamic light scattering (DLS), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.