Biosynthesis of hematite nanoparticles and its cytotoxic effect on HepG2 cancer cells

Iron oxide nanoparticles were gaining significant importance in a variety of applications due to its paramagnetic properties and biocompatibility. Various chemical methods were employed for hematite nanoparticle synthesis which require special equipment or a complex production process. In this study, protein capped crystalline hexagonal hematite (α-Fe2O3) nanoparticles were synthesized by green approach using culture supernatant of a newly isolated bacterium, Bacillus cereus SVK1 at ambient conditions. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, UV-visible spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic analysis. Nanoparticles were evaluated for its possible anticancer activity against HepG2 liver cancer cells by MTT assay. Hematite nanoparticles with an average diameter of 30.2 nm, exhibited a significant cytotoxicity toward HepG2 cells in a concentration-dependent manner (CTC50 = 704 ng/ml).