Supported Au NPs over magnetic chitosan-gelatin nanocomposite: Investigation of its catalytic activity for one-pot synthesis of tetrazoles, study of antioxidant activity and anti-uterine cancer performances

Abstract

This paper reports the synthesis of a novel class of Fe₃O₄@CS-Gl/Au core-shell pattern nanoparticles by employing Au NPs and chitosan-gelatin composite. The biogenic synthesis was mediated by dual composite hydrogel of chitosan and gelatin as a green reducing as well as stabilizing agent under ambient conditions. Physicochemical features the so obtained nanomaterial was assessed by using FT-IR, TEM, FE-SEM, EDX, elemental mapping, VSM and XRD. Click synthesis of 5-substituted-1H-tetrazoles utilizing aryl halides was our aim in catalytic investigation. The Fe₃O₄@CS-Gl/Au catalyst, which is highly effective and reusable, was used to catalyze the [3 + 2]-cycloaddition of benzonitriles with NaN₃, leading to the solvent-free synthesis of corresponding tetrazole derivatives at 120 °C. This method was carried out using K₄[Fe(CN)₆] as a non-hazardous cyanide precursor. Following a 12-hour process, the different substrates produced yields ranging from 70 to 96 %. Hot filtration, leaching and reusability studies were conducted 12 times in a succession, all of which confirmed the catalyst's resilience. Furthermore, in the biological studies % cell viability of Fe₃O₄@CS-Gl/Au NPs was found very low against common human uterine cell lines i.e. AN3-CA and HEC-1-A, devoid of any cytotoxicity on normal cell lines like HUVEC. The best anti-uterine effect was observed against the AN3-CA cell line. For investigating the antioxidant properties of nanobio-composite, the DPPH assay was used. Fe₃O₄@CS-Gl/Au NPs inhibited half of the DPPH molecules in the concentration of 139 µg/mL. The antioxidant activity of the NPs is significantly related to its anti-uterine cancer potentials. Based on the above findings, the Fe₃O₄@CS-Gl/Au NPs could be administered in restricting diverse human cancers.