Evaluation of PAMAM dendrimers-stabilized gold nanoparticles: two-stage procedure synthesis and toxicity assessment in MCF-7 breast cancer cells

Gold nanoparticles stabilized with polyamidoamine dendrimers are one of the potential candidates for use as a contrast agent in computed tomography. This work demonstrates a rapid, two-step synthesis of such complexes, which are size-stable for up to 18 months. The first step of the synthesis involves a short 3-min sonication of gold (III) chloride hydrate with polyamidoamine dendrimers of 4th generation, while the second step uses microwaves to reduce gold (III) chloride hydrate with sodium citrate. Physicochemical characterization of the gold nanoparticle-polyamidoamine dendrimers complexes was performed using ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering technique, infrared spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The toxicity of synthesized gold nanoparticles stabilized with polyamidoamine dendrimers on MCF-7 cell line has been studied using tetrazolium salt reduction test. The produced gold nanoparticles were administered to the MCF-7 cell culture line in two configurations: immediately after synthesis and after 18 months from synthesis. The cytotoxicity results were supplemented with studies of the influence of commercially available gold nanoparticles stabilized only with sodium citrate.