One-Pot Solvothermal Synthetic Route of a Zinc Oxide Nanoparticle-Decorated Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanocomposite: An Advanced Material with a Novel Anticancer Theranostic Approach

This study focuses on a one-pot solvothermal synthetic route for the preparation of uniformly decorated zinc oxide nanoparticles on the surface of reduced graphene oxide (rGO/ZnO-NC) by using Andrographis paniculata leaf aqueous extract as an eco-friendly reducing agent. After characterizing the samples by different physical and chemical techniques, the anticancer activity of the synthesized rGO/ZnO-NC was examined on two human cancerous cell lines (HCT116 and A549) and one normal cell line (hMSCs). The MTT assays revealed that rGO/ZnO-NC exhibited dose-dependent cytotoxicity at a maximum concentration range of 10 ppm and the viability of the cells was drastically decreased to 95-96%. Measurement of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and Annexin V-FTIC staining assay revealed that rGO/ZnO-NC induced apoptosis in HCT116 and A549 cell lines. Thus, this study shows that the green-synthesized rGO/ZnO-NC has great potential in developing an efficacious novel therapeutic agent for cancers.