β-sitosterol Mediated Silver Nanoparticles Induce Cytotoxicity in Human ColonCancer HT-29 Cells

Background: Silver nanoparticles (AgNP) are commonly used metallic nanoparticlesin health care systems. Colon cancer incidence is increasing worldwide. In this study,AgNP was synthesized using β-sitosterol and its cytotoxic potential was evaluated inhuman colon cancer (HT-29) cells.Methods: Characterization of AgNP was analyzed by TEM and spectrophotometryanalysis. HT-29 cells were treated with different concentrations (2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 ng/ml) of AgNPs and cytotoxicity was evaluated by MTT assay. The apoptosis was analyzedby the flow cytometry. The expression of p53 protein was analyzed by westernblotting.Results: β-sitosterol mediated AgNP are spherical in shape and induced concentration-dependent cytotoxicity in HT-29 cells. AgNP caused apoptosis related morphologicalchanges as evidenced by annexin positive staining. AgNP treatments also inducedthe p53 expression in HT-29 cells.Conclusion: Our present result suggests that β-sitosterol mediated AgNP induce apoptosisin colon cancer cells and this finding may pave the way for further experimentalanalysis in vivo.