Bio-inspired synthesis of chitosan/copper oxide nanocomposite using rutin and their anti-proliferative activity on human lung cancer cell line.

Polymer functionalized metal oxide nanocomposites are great interest due to wide range of application, especially in nanomedicine. The present study reports an eco-friendly bio-inspired synthesis of chitosan/copper oxide (CS-CuO) nanocomposite for the first time using rutin. The bio-synthesized CS-CuO nanocomposite was characterized using UV-Visible spectroscopy, FE-SEM, EDS, TEM, XRD and FTIR analyses. FE-SEM and TEM images revealed the synthesized CS-CuO nanocomposite having colloidal spherical shaped structure with an average size of 10-30 nm. EDS analysis confirmed the elements present in synthesized CS-CuO nanocomposite. FTIR studies revealed the role of rutin and chitosan for reduction, capping and synthesis of CS-CuO nanocomposite from the precursor copper salt. The XRD analysis revealed monoclinic structure of CS-CuO nanocomposite. Anti-proliferative activity of the CS-CuO nanocomposite was evaluated in human lung cancer cells A549. Synthesized CS-CuO nanocomposite showed concentration-depended anti-proliferative activity against A549 cancer cells and their IC value was found to be 20 ± 0.50 μg/mL. Furthermore, synthesized nanocomposite induce apoptosis in treated A549 cancer cells assayed by AO/EtBr fluorescent staining method. In conclusion, the synthesized CS-CuO nanocomposite using rutin can be used as a potential anticancer agent in biomedical and clinical sectors.