Innovative TiO2/ZnO-Organoselenium Composites with Diselenide Linkages for Enhanced Anticancer Efficacy

Abstract

Selenium (Se)-based nanocomposites are promising compatible biomaterials as Se is a micronutrient trace element in our bodies and exhibits high sensitivity to anticancer activity and redox stimuli. Therefore, This work presents a low-cost strategy to develop novel materials based on TiO2/ZnO (ZT) organoselenium scaffolds possessing the diselenide (Se-Se) functionality. Two diaryl diselenides (A and B) were designed and joined with ZT composite to form A(ZT) and B(ZT) composites by the in situ inverse emulsion polymerization. The chemical structures of the synthesized ZT-composites were characterized using a range of chemical and physicochemical techniques. These analyses aimed to elucidate the surface chemical composition, morphological properties, and functional groups of the composites. The morphology of the fabricated A(ZT) and B(ZT) as oxide/organoselenium composites have heterogeneous particles that seem to be microflowers when using diaryl diselenide A and nanosheets in the case of diaryl diselenide B. Their antimicrobial activity was evaluated against a variety of microorganisms. On the other side, the ability of the investigated candidates to inhibit the growth of cancer and normal cells has been tested against fifteen cancer and two normal cells. After, the IC50 of the target candidates was estimated against the cancer cell lines with the most outstanding GI%. Furthermore, the apoptotic potential of the superior composite B(ZT) was examined using a protein expression analysis for apoptosis and inflammation-related genes. These composites provide a promising strategy for presenting low-cost antimicrobial and anticancer agents for biomedical technology.