Iron Oxide Nanoparticles Conjugated to Thiosemicarbazone Reduce the Survival of Cancer Cells by Increasing the Gene Expression of MicroRNA let-7c in Lung Cancer A549 Cells

Cancer cells have a higher demand for iron to grow and proliferate. A new complex of iron nanoparticles and thiosemicarbazones was synthesized. Confirmation tests included UV-visible, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and zeta potential. MTT assay, flow cytometry and qRT-PCR were used to investigate anti-proliferative effect, amount of apoptosis and the effect of Fe O @Glu/BTSC on changes in gene expression of ( ), respectively. The specifications of Fe O @ Glu/BTSC were confirmed at 5 nm. Fe3O4@Glu/BTSC was more effective than BTSC and Fe O on A549 cells (IC =166.77 µg/mL) but its effect on healthy cells was smaller (CC =189.15 µg/mL). The drug selectivity index (SI) was calculated to be 1.13. The initial apoptosis rate was 46.33% for Fe O @Glu/BTSC, 28.27% for BTSC and 26.02% for Fe O . BTSC and BTSC@Fe O inhibited the cell cycle progression in the Sub-G1 and S phases. expression was 6.9 times higher in treated cells compared to the control group. The expression rate was 2.2 with BTSC compared to the control group and 1.6 times for Fe O . Fe O @Glu/BTSC has proper anti-proliferative effects against lung cancer cells by increasing the expression of and inhibiting the cell cycle with the apoptosis activation pathway.