Anticancer and Multi-Biological Activities of Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles Synthesized Using Lemon Peel Extract via Microwave Irradiation

Abstract

Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO₂ NPs) were synthesized using a microwave-assisted green synthesis approach using lemon peel extract as a reducing and stabilizing agent. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized using UV–Vis spectroscopy, FTIR, TEM, SEM–EDX, and DLS analyses, which confirmed the formation of predominantly spherical nanoparticles with average particle sizes ranging from 25.6 to 38.7 nm. The biological activities of the synthesized TiO₂ nanoparticles were evaluated through different in vitro assays. The nanoparticles exhibited promising anticancer activity against HepG2 and MCF-7 cancer cell lines, with IC₅₀ values of 85.8 and 104.7 µg/mL, respectively, while showing lower cytotoxicity toward normal Vero cells with an IC₅₀ value of 262.5 µg/mL. In antioxidant assays, the TiO₂ nanoparticles demonstrated DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activities with IC₅₀ values of 319 and 211 µg/mL, respectively. The nanoparticles also showed significant antibiofilm activity against Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae, achieving maximum inhibition rates of 76.4% and 57.5%, respectively. Furthermore, the synthesized TiO₂ nanoparticles displayed antidiabetic potential through inhibition of α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzymes, with inhibition percentages reaching 63.9% and 79.1%, respectively. Overall, the study showed that green-synthesized TiO₂ nanoparticles had multifunctional biological activities and may serve as promising eco-friendly nanomaterials for biomedical and therapeutic applications.