ROS generation and DNA damage with photo-inactivation mediated by silver nanoparticles in lung cancer cell line.

Lung cancer is considered one of the major health problems worldwide and the burden is even heavier in Africa. Nanomedicine is considered one of the most promising medical research applications nowadays. This is due to the unique physical and chemical properties of materials at the nanoscale. Silver nanoparticles have been extensively studied recently in many biomedical applications especially in cancer treatment, since they possess multifunctional effects that make these nanostructures ideal candidates for biomedical applications. AgNPs have been proved to have anti-tumour activity and the mode of cell death was shown to be apoptotic. The goal of the current work was to investigate the degree of DNA damage that may result from the usage of AgNPs as a photosensitiser in photo-inactivation and to evaluate the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced in the treatment. The results showed the occurrence of DNA damage in lung cancer cells (A549) through the generation of ROS shown by mitochondrial membrane potential changes.