Nano hydroxyapatite: preparation, characterization and anti-tumor activity evaluation

The nano-hydroxyapatite (nHAp) displayed significant superiority in drug delivery and antitumor fields, which has attracted widespread attention. However, the insufficient study on the anti-tumor activity and safety restricted its application. In this study, nHAp was prepared initially by the chemical precipitation method, characterized, and the synthetic conditions were optimized. Then the anti-tumor activity were investigated against human breast cancer cells (MCF-7) via MTT test, cell colony formation test and scratch assay. What’s more, in order to evaluate the safety of nHAp, MTT test was also performed on normal human liver cells (L-02). The X-ray diffractogram and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) proved that nHAp was successfully prepared. And the synthesized nHAp under the optimized condition possessed uniform morphology and well dispersed particle size (212 ± 16 nm, PDI 0.178 ). The proliferation and migration of MCF-7 cells were inhibited in certain degree, while the proliferation of L-02 cells effected by nHAp was negligible. In conclusion, nHAp was successfully prepared and the certain degree of anti-tumor activity and safety laid the foundation for the application of nHAp as a drug carrier, especially in anti-tumor drug delivery systems.