Bio-efficacy of Polyethylene Glycol-coated Selenium Nanocomposite Synthesised using Cocos nucifera Haustorium against HepG2 Cell Line

The selenium-based nanoparticles (SeNP) are prepared by the amalgamation of Cocos nucifera haustorium (CNH) with sodium selenite. Further conjugating the synthesised CNH-SeNP with polyethylene glycol (PEG) to design haustorium-based selenium nanocomposite (CNH-SeNC). The work involves characterising and studying their bio-potency. Maximum absorption in UV-visible spectrum was at 315 nm and 305 nm for CNH-SeNP and CNH-SeNC. FT-IR affirms the involvement of functional groups of haustorium in the fabrication of CHH-SeNP and CNH-SeNC. SEM result conveys the spherical structure of the CNH-SeNP and the elongated oval shape of CNH-SeNC. EDX analysed the elemental proportion of CNH-SeNP and CNH-SeNC. X-ray diffraction pattern presents the amorphous form of CNH-SeNP with increased crystallisation in CNH-SeNC than that of CNH-SeNP. Regarding their antimicrobial activity, not much significant effect is seen. CNH-SeNP and CNH-SeNC comprised excellent antioxidant activity inferred by DPPH, ABTS, and H2O2 assays with the highest inhibition percentage of 84.67 ± 0.88 % and 86.24 ± 1.00 % through ABTS assays for CNH-SeNP and CNH-SeNC at 50 µg/mL. Egg albumin denaturation and HRBC assays showed potent anti-inflammatory properties. In HRBC, the inhibition of inflammation was equal to that of diclofenac sodium (positive control) 88.30 ± 0.66 %, followed by CNH-SeNC (87.77 ± 0.87 %) and CNH-SeNP (86.13 ± 0.83 %). Biocompatibility through brine shrimp lethality assay revealed that no toxicity was seen at low concentrations (10 µg/mL). Initially, mild toxicity was seen at 48 h for higher dosages (20 µg/mL) with viability 93.33±5.77% and 96.67±5.77% for CNH-SeNP and CNH-SeNC. The anticancer effect of CNH-SeNP and CNH-SeNC exhibited tremendous control of growth against HepG2 cells without affecting the normal cells with IC50 values of 31.11 µg/mL and 24.41 µg/mL, respectively. Therefore, the study's outcome presents the advantages of green synthesis from Cocos nucifera haustorium and its conjugation with PEG providing their efficient pharmacological applications.