Green synthesis and anticancer activity of silver nanoparticles prepared using fruit extract of Azadirachta indica

Effective cancer therapies with limited side effects are urgently needed, for which silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have shown potential. However, environmentally friendly methods for preparing AgNPs require improvements. In this study, we biologically synthesized AgNPs using the fruit extract of Azadirachta indica, an effective medicinal plant used to treat various diseases. Medicinal Plants contain phytochemicals, such as polyphenols, flavonoids, and tannins, that function as reducing and stabilizing agents and are therefore suitable for application in biological methods for synthesis. The study proposes a new approach involving the combination of the biosynthesized AgNPs with cisplatin (AgNP-cis). The biosynthesized AgNPs were characterized using various methods, and their cytotoxicity against the A549 cell line was examined. Ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy revealed surface plasmon resonance bands at 429 and 435 nm for AgNPs and AgNP-cis, respectively. The results from the AgNPs morphology evaluation showed that the NPs were spherical with diameters of 27 nm. Dynamic light scattering analysis revealed an average diameter of 249 and 260 nm for AgNPs and AgNPs-cis, respectively. Zeta potential measurements showed that AgNPs were colloidally stable at −35.6 mV, and the zeta potential for AgNPs-cis was −22 mV. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed the embedding of biomolecules, such as polyphenols and flavonoids, in the surfaces of both AgNPs and AgNPs-cis. The synthesized AgNPs were highly toxic against A549 lung cancer cells in vitro. Furthermore, our study demonstrates stable AgNPs with a desirable morphology and high yield, thereby improving the AgNPs properties for various medicinal applications.