Functionalisation of Fe3O4 nanoparticles by 2-((pyrazol-4-yl) methylene) hydrazinecarbothioamide enhances the apoptosis of human breast cancer MCF-7 cells.

Cancer is a major cause of death. Thus, the incidence and mortality rate of cancer is globally important. Regarding vast problems caused by chemotherapy drugs, efforts have progressed to find new anti-cancer drugs. Pyrazole derivatives are known as components with anti-cancer properties. In here, Fe3O4 nanoparticles were first functionalized with (3-chloropropyl) trimethoxysilane, then 2-((pyrazol-4-yl) methylene) hydrazinecarbothioamide (P) was anchored on the surface of magnetic nanoparticles (PL). The synthesized nano-compounds were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Zeta potential, dynamic light scattering, and energy-dispersive x-ray spectrometry analyses. The cytotoxicity effect was evaluated using MTT assay, apoptosis test by Flow cytometry, cell cycle analysis, Caspase-3 activity assay and Hoechst staining on MCF-7 cell line. The high toxicity for tumor cells and low toxicity on normal cells (MCF10A) was considered as an important feature (selectivity index, 10.9). Based on results, the IC50 for P and PL compounds were 157.80 and 131.84 µM/ml respectively. Moreover, apoptosis inducing, nuclear fragmentation, Caspase 3 activity and induction of cell rest in sub-G1 and S phases, were also observed. The inhibitory effect of PL was significantly higher than P, which could be due to the high penetrability of Fe3O4 nanoparticles.