Anti-Cancer Activity of a Mixture of Ag Nanoparticles and Clove Extract Synthesized by DC Sputtering and Cold Plasma Techniques Versus Breast Cancer Cells

Cancer treatment represents a major challenge in the medical field due to its complexity and the diverse nature of the disease. Conventional treatments, such as chemotherapy, have numerous side effects that negatively impact patients. Plasmonic nanomaterials and herbal plant extracts have recently been exploited as a new future therapeutic approach to combat cancer with minimal side effects. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have unique chemical and physical properties, such as biocompatibility and plasmonic behavior, which can be used as effective anticancer agents. Clove extract (Syzygium aromaticum) is a medicinal plant with many therapeutic properties, such as antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, and antiseptic properties. In this study, the plasma phenomenon was adopted through DC sputtering and cold atmospheric plasma jetting (CAPJ) technique as a simple, inexpensive, and environmentally friendly physical technique for the preparation of cold nanoparticles (AgNPs) and extraction of clove emulsion. The anticancer effect of silver nanoparticles, clove emulsion, and their mixture was studied against MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells and normal REF cells in vitro. AgNPs were synthesized at different preparation currents (6, 8, and 10 mA), and some of their physical properties were analyzed using UV-vis spectroscopy, XRD, and SEM. The localized surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peak is visible, indicating plasmon behavior. The crystalline structure and spherical shape of the nanoparticles were observed from XRD and SEM images, respectively. FTIR spectroscopy of the emulsified clove extract was performed to analyze its chemical compounds. Eugenol compounds were observed in the infrared spectrum of the emulsion extract of cloves that had undergone the filtration and drying process. The anticancer activity was investigated by performing a cytotoxicity test (MTT test) against the breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231. The maximum growth inhibition value of MDA cancer cells was obtained by adding a mixture of cold colloidal nanoparticles with clove emulsion extract at a mixing ratio of 100:100 and an incubation period of 48 hours. Our results confirm the potential of AgNPs and clove emulsion mixture as a promising anticancer therapy.