Eco-Friendly Fabrication of Nanocurcumin/Nano Iron Oxide Composite: Enhanced In Vitro Anticancer Activity Against DLD-1 Cell Lines

Cancer has recently become one of the leading causes of mortality across the globe and has persisted as a severe health concern for the past several years. The present study is focused on the fabrication of nanocurcumin–nano iron oxide composites to improve its solubility without compromising the structural features of curcumin which would eventually enhance the targeted drug administration. The superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles used for the synthesis of nanocomposite were produced via green route using Pimenta dioica leaf extract as reducing agent. Various characterization techniques such as UV–Visible spectroscopy, FTIR, XRD, TG, SEM-EDS and TEM analysis have been adopted to characterize the synthesized nanocomposites and found to be spherical in shape with size ranging from 10 to 25 nm. In vitro cytotoxic studies of nano iron oxide, nanocurcumin and the nanocomposite were conducted against DLD-1 (colorectal cancer) cell lines and normal L929 (Fibroblast) cell lines. From the results, it was found that the IC 50 value of the curcumin/iron oxide nanocomposites against DLD-1 cells is 37.96 µg/mL whereas that against L929 cells is 247.4 µg/mL which implies very high toxicity towards cancer cells and less toxic towards normal cells. The novel curcumin/iron oxide nanocomposites developed in the present research is highly effective in exterminating colorectal cancer cells with minimum side effects. Graphical Abstract