Development of Daruharidra (Berberis aristata) Based Biogenic Cadmium
Sulfide Nanoparticles: Their Implementation as Antibacterial and Novel
Therapeutic Agents against Human Breast and Ovarian Cancer
Authors: Bhatnagar Aditi , Mishra Abha 
Published: December 2023

Background:
This article presents a new and environmentally friendly method for
generating DH-CdSNPs (cadmium sulfide nanoparticles) ranging from 5-10 nm in size. A green
synthesis method for the development of inorganic nanoparticles was developed a few years
back for their applications in diverse fields, such as medicine, bioimaging and remediation. The
biogenic synthesis of these nanoparticles containing daruharidra (Berberis aristata) and cadmium
sulfide is an effective alternative.

Aims:
By employing Daruharidra extract as a herbal analog, we aim to minimize the risks and
adverse effects that come along with the use of other chemically synthesized nanoparticles. This
study's main goal was to investigate the potential of these nanoparticles as powerful antibacterial
and anticancer agents.

Methods:
We used a crude powdered daruharidra extract as a stabilizer ingredient to create CdSbased
nanoformulations in an environmentally responsible way. By exposing the breast cancer
cell line (MDAMB-231) and ovarian teratocarcinoma cell line (PA1) to these nanoformulations,
we were able to evaluate their anticancer activities. Additionally, flow cytometry analysis was
conducted to scrutinize the process of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in reference to anticancer
studies. Furthermore, DH-CdSNPs were applied on different gram-positive as well as gramnegative
bacteria in a disc diffusion assay to ascertain their antibacterial activity. Nanoparticles
were tested on bacterial strains to check if they were resistant after the MIC or minimum inhibitory
concentration.

Results:
The cytotoxicity of nanoparticles was tested by MTT assay. The impact of increasing
concentrations of NPs on cell lines was tested, revealing a cytotoxic effect. The half-maximal
inhibitory concentration values for a 24-hour treatment were determined to be 95.74μg/ml for
ovarian cancer cells and 796.25 μg/ml for breast cancer cells. Treatment with DH-CdSNP resulted
in a noteworthy increase in early apoptotic cells, with percentages rising from approximately
3% to 14.5% in ovarian cancer cell lines and from 4% to 13.6% in breast cancer cell lines. Furthermore,
the NPs induced arrest of the cell cycle, specifically in the interphase of G2 and mitosis
phase, with DNA damage observed in sub G1 in ovarian cancer cells and G0/G1 arrest observed
in breast cancer cells. Additionally, the NPs exhibited exceptional potency against both
gram-positive as well as gram-negative bacteria.

Conclusion:
Less research has been done on using bioinspired DH-CdSNP to deliver anticancer
medications. The amalgamation of plant extract and the DH-CdSNP could cause a paradigm
shift in the cancer therapy approach. The findings revealed that the biosynthesized DH-CdSNP
limited the growth of human breast and ovarian cancer cells. This property can be further investigated
against a variety of additional cell lines to determine whether this property makes the
DH-CdSNP a promising treatment alternative. The results obtained from these nanoformulations
exhibit faster efficacy compared to traditional medications.