Selenium-Containing Amphiphiles Reduced and Stabilized Gold Nanoparticles: Kill Cancer Cells via Reactive Oxygen Species

Selenium has attracted increasing interest in recent decades because of the function of regulating the redox balance in the human body. However, biomedical studies of selenium are still limited. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), typically prepared by a first reduction step followed by a second stabilization step, are widely applied in biomedical studies. However, their own anticancer activity is less studied. Here, we report 2 nm AuNPs with significant anticancer activity (IC50 = 20 μM) that is stabilized by a selenium-containing amphiphile EGSe-tMe. The AuNPs are prepared by simply mixing chloroauric acid (HAuCl4) with EGSe-tMe, which acts as both a reducing agent and a stabilizer. In contrast to AuNPs prepared by EGSe-tMe, EGSe-tMe alone and typically prepared AuNPs show little anticancer activity even at concentrations up to 250 μM. Mechanistic studies suggest that selenium in cooperation with AuNPs can induce high concentrations of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cancer cells, leading to cellular apoptosis.