Phyto-mediated synthesis of CuO nanoparticles using aqueous leaf extract of Artemisia deserti and their anticancer effects on A2780-CP cisplatin-resistant ovarian cancer cells

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the word. The failure of the most common therapeutic strategies including chemotherapy and its side effects on normal tissues plus the development of chemoresistance cases has justified the global attempt to find an alternative medicinal approach for cancer treatment. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of green-synthesized CuO nanoparticles (CuO NPs) using aqueous leaf extract of the plant Artemisia deserti on A2780-CP cisplatin-resistant ovarian cancer cells. GC–MS analysis of A. deserti extract showed the presence of three main reductive phytocomponents. The properties of synthesized CuO NPs have been characterized using different techniques such as UV–vis, FESEM, TEM, EDX, FTIR, XRD, and DLS. The cytotoxicity effect of CuO NPs has been evaluated by MTT assay. The induction of apoptosis and the cell cycle arrest has been analyzed by flow cytometry and qRT-PCR, respectively. The overall results obtained from MTT assay, Annexin/PI staining, qRT-PCR, cell cycle analysis, and measurement of generated cellular ROS in A2780-CP cells showed that the synthesized CuO NPs could induce apoptosis in A2780-CP cells in a significant level. The results also indicated that the biosynthesized CuO NPs cause negligible amount of cell cytotoxicity on normal healthy human foreskin fibroblasts cells (HFF). These two advantages can make the biogenic synthesized CuO NPs a good candidate for further studies on cancer treatment approaches.