Novel self-assembled tellurium nanoparticles and their effects in inhibition of myoblastoma cell line

Harnessing the distinct features of nanoparticles and nanomaterials for biomedical use has seen remarkable progress in recent years. Tellurium nanoparticles (TeNPs) have attracted attention due to their exceptional properties and potential uses in photoconductivity, nonlinear optics, piezoelectricity, and thermal conductivity applications. This study synthesized TeNPs through a novel heat reduction method using ascorbic acid as a reducing agent, followed by various characterization studies. Functional studies, such as the antibacterial activity, antioxidant activity and cytotoxicity assays, AO/EB staining, and live cell imaging were performed using TeNPs. The various concentrations of TeNPs (5 − 20 µg/ml) result in inhibition zones against S.pyogens in the 5-13 mm range and against E.coli in the 6-12 mm range. The produced TeNPs minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) demonstrated that these nanoparticles had antibacterial properties against the tested gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial strains. Moreover, TeNPs exhibit strong antioxidant properties and demonstrate high toxicity in C2C12 myoblastoma cells. Notably, at a concentration of 5 µg/ml, TeNPs exhibit potential toxicity. Live cell imaging and cell proliferation assay with high and lower concentrations of TeNPs retards cell growth and proliferation of C2C12 myoblastoma cells compared to control. Based on the results, due to the increased toxicity nature of TeNPs, lower concentrations below 5 µg might be used in scaffolds to enhance cell proliferation for regenerative medicine and tissue engineering applications.