Green synthesis of Se/Ru alloy nanoparticles using gallic acid and evaluation of theiranti-invasive effects in HeLa cells

•The green synthesis GA-Se/RuNPs (60 nm) has been achieved using GA as both a reducing and a capping agent.•GA-Se/RuNPs effectively inhibited the growth of HeLa cells.•GA-Se/RuNPs also effectively inhibited migration and invasion in HeLa cells.

Methods for the synthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) for biomedical applications ideally involve the use of nontoxic reducing and capping agents, and more importantly, enable control over the shape and size of the particles. As such, we used gallic acid (GA) as both a reducing and a capping agent in a simple and “green” synthesis of stable Se/Rualloy NPs (GA-Se/RuNPs). The diameter and morphology of the Se/Ru alloy NPs were regulated by GA concentration, and the presence of Ru was found to be a key factor in regulating and controlling the size of GA-Se/RuNPs. Moreover, GA-Se/RuNPs suppressed HeLa cell proliferation through the induction of apoptosis at concentrations that were nontoxic in normal cells. Furthermore, GA-Se/RuNPs effectively inhibited migration and invasion in HeLa cells via the inhibition of MMP-2 and MMP-9 proteins. Our findings confirm that bimetallic (Se/Ru) NPs prepared via GA-mediated synthesis exhibit enhanced anticancer effects.

Graphical abstractBimetallic (Se/Ru) NPs prepared via GA-mediated synthesis effectively inhibited migration and invasion in HeLa cells.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide