Anticancer and acute toxicity studies of cellulose-coated Vanadium oxide nanomaterials

In the present research work, a facile hydrothermal method has been used for the preparation of pristine and cellulose-coated Vanadium oxide (V₂O₅) nanoparticles (NPs). The as-synthesized nanostructures were characterized using XRD, SEM, UV–Vis, PL, DLS, Raman, and FTIR spectroscopy. The crystallite size of the bare V₂O₅ NPs calculated using XRD analysis was ∼19 nm, which was reduced to ∼16 nm after cellulose functionalization. TEM micrographs revealed the formation of spherical shape NPs with sizes 21 ± 4.9 nm and 16.5 ± 4.4 nm for V₂O₅ and cellulose – V₂O₅ respectively. Cellulose-coated Vanadium oxide NPs have shown anticancer potential against the liver cancer cell line (HuH-7.0). Cell viability of V₂O₅ displayed the IC₅₀ value of 102.182 μg/mL, compared to the coated Vanadium oxide, which was 49.402 μg/mL. In vivo toxicity studies were conducted using healthy albino rats. Pathological parameters indicate acute toxicity due to cellulose-coated Vanadium oxide NPs. The histopathology of cellulose-V₂O₅ NPs treated livers indicates the swelling in hepatocytes and compressed sinusoidal spaces.