Investigating the vital effect of gold nanoparticles prepared by thyme extract by green synthesis method on FaDu pharyngeal cancer cell line

Different medicinal properties of thyme plant, anticancer effects of green synthesis of gold nanoparticles and low survival of patients with pharyngeal cancer are the main reasons for this research on the pharyngeal cancer FaDu cell line.

Following preparation of thyme extract, green synthesis was performed on AuCl3 gold salt to obtain nanomedicine. Infrared and X-ray diffraction spectroscopic tests along with scanning and transmission electron microscopy was carried out for optimization of the synthesized nanomedicine. The viability of FaDu cells was assessed by MTT after 24-, 48-, and 72-hours treatment with different concentrations of the nanomedicine and LC50 was determined. Cell apoptosis was measured by flow cytometry.  

The mean survival of FaDu cells after treatment with different concentrations of gold nanomedicine at each of the three time points was significantly lower compared to untreated cells (P<0.001). The LC50 value of the nanomedicine following 48 hours of exposure was approximately 40 μg/ml. The rate of early and late apoptosis in the treated cells was calculated as 37.5%.

The results of the present study confirmed that gold nanoparticles synthesized from thyme extract have cytotoxic and apoptosis induction effects on FaDu pharyngeal cancer cells. Therefore, further study on the use of this nanomedicine in the treatment of pharyngeal malignancy is recommended