Agcu bimetallic nanoparticles modified by polyvinyl alcohol – the cells viability study in vitro

The effects of elementary metallic nanoparticles on living objects as cytotoxicity or antibacterial activity are widely known. Ag nanoparticles are a suitable and well known example. Nanoparticles formed by an alloy of Ag and Cu stabilized by polyvinyl alcohol were examined on two human tumor cells - ovarian carcinoma cells A2780 and skin melanoma cells A375. Bimetalic AgCu nanoparticles were synthetized by using a method of chemical co-reduction of silver nitrate and copper (II) nitrate hydrate. The nanoparticles were characterized by electron microscopy and by measurement of zeta potential. Cell viability was tested by using an MTT (tetrazole colorimetric viability assay) test. The effect on cell apoptosis and necrosis was measured by using flow cytometry. The experimental results indicate a differentiated impact of nanoparticles on the cells used. A more significant effect of viability decrease was observed for A2780 cells. The cell death caused by the nanoparticles used was observed particularly in the form of initial and advanced apoptosis for both cells lines, necrosis was observed to a lesser extent. The synthetized bimetallic nanoparticles seem to be a suitable candidate for targeted suppression of cell proliferation.