Green synthesis of silver sulfide quantum dots using Achillea wilhelmsii alcoholic extract and evaluation of its cytotoxic effect on HFF2 cells

Aim and Background: Recently, there is a great activity on Ag2S quantum dots for both imaging and drug/gene delivery due to their bright fluorescence, chemical stability and low toxicity. In this study, yarrow extract was used for the green synthesis of silver sulfide quantum dots (Ag2S QDs) in order to reduce the toxicity effect of silver sulfide quantum dots and increase its biocompatibility for biological applications. Methods: The amount of 60 mg of silver nitrate in 30 ml reaches a temperature of 50 degrees, and then the amount of 240 mg of yarrow extract is added to it, and the reaction mixture is placed on a magnetic stirrer for 24 hours. Results and discussion: Synthesis of nanoparticles was confirmed by UV-Vis, XRD, FTIR. Nanoparticles in the form of non-clustered quasi-spheres with sizes of 36 nm were observed. RBC damage by green-synthesized Ag2S QDs was not observed at the studied concentration levels (50-400 μg/mL). Silver sulfide quantum dots synthesized with yarrow extract significantly increased cell viability in the MTT method. Hence, green synthesis of Ag2S QDs with yarrow extract can reduce the cytotoxic or hematotoxic effects of Ag2S QDs. Conclusion: We conclude that the biocompatibility of green-synthetized Ag2S QDs with yarrow extract makes them more suitable for in-vivo applications.