In this investigation, Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) were prepared via a chemical coprecipitation reaction, and the surface of Fe3O4 MNPs was coated with silica by a sol-gel process. The surface of Fe3O4@SiO2 MNPs was modified by an antioxidant agent, trans-ferulic acid, to achieve water-soluble MNPs for biological applications. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) showed that the MNPs were successfully coated with SiO2 and ferulic acid (FA) ligand. The morphology of γ-Fe2O3@SiO2-FA MNPs was found to be spherical in images of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and showed a uniform size distribution with an average diameter of 21 nm. The in vitro cytotoxic activity of γ-Fe2O3@SiO2-FA MNPs and FA were investigated against the human cancer cells (MCF-7, PC-3, U-87 MG, A-2780, and A-549) by MTT colorimetric assay. The cytotoxic effect of MNPs on all cancer cell lines was several times of magnitude higher compared to free FA except for A-549 cell lines. Furthermore, in vitro DNA binding studies were investigated by UV-vis and circular dichroism spectroscopies.
Keywords: Magnetic nanoparticles; antiproliferative effect; cancer cell line; coprecipitation reaction; ferulic acid.