Gold nanoparticles conjugated with resveratrol induce cell cycle arrest in MCF-7 cell lines

Resveratrol is a kind of phytoalexin produced in several plants with self-defense effect. It is known for its anti-inflammatory and ant-cancer effects. However, it has low efficacy due to its degradation before reaching the target. To heighten its delivery rate and efficacy, gold nanoparticles (GNPs) under 30 nm size were synthesized as drug carrier and conjugated with resveratrol via polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as cross-linker. These gold nanoparticles conjugated with resveratrol (GRs) were used to estimate their anti-tumor effects through cell cycle arrest. It was found that resveratrol- and GRs-treated groups had decreased extent of G0/G1 phase but increased extent of S phase compared to control and GNP-treated groups, suggesting that the effect was due to resveratrol which was attached to gold nanoparticles. To estimate cytotoxicity after treatment with GNPs and GRs, the extent of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release was investigated. Results showed that GNPs and GRs-treated groups had almost no difference in LDH release compared to control group, suggesting that the extent of toxicity was not significant. Taken together, these results suggest that GRs could be potentially effective in treating cancer as anti-tumor drug with further development.