Synthesis of flexirubin-mediated silver nanoparticles using Chryseobacterium artocarpi CECT 8497 and investigation of its anticancer activity

In this work, the synthesis of silver nanoparticles from a pigment produced by a recently-discovered bacterium, Chryseobacterium artocarpi CECT 8497, was achieved, followed by an investigation of its anticancer properties. The bacterial pigment was identified as flexirubin following NMR (H-1 NMR and C-13 NMR), UV-Vis, and LC-MS analysis. An aqueous silver nitrate solution was treated with isolated flexirubin to produce silver nanoparticles. The synthesised silver nanoparticles were subsequently characterised by UV-Vis spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDX), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), and Fourier Transform Infrared (FIR) Spectroscopy methodologies. Furthermore, the anticancer effects of synthesised silver nanopartides in a human breast cancer cell line (MCF-7) were evaluated. The tests showed significant cytotoxicity activity of the silver nanoparticles in the cultured cells, with an IC50 value of 36 mu g mL(-1). This study demonstrates that silver nanoparticles, synthesised from flexirubin from C. artocarpi CECT 8497, may have potential as a novel chemotherapeutic agent. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.