Introducing a Novel Chemotherapeutic Supplement to Treat Human Melanoma Using a Green Synthesized Bimetallic Nanocomposite of Nickel/Copper

Abstract

Artemisia absinthium is known as a medicinal plant with various applications in herbal medicine. This plant contains different antioxidant compounds that may play a role in cancer prevention. In this study, we focus on synthesizing bimetallic NPs of nickel and copper using the aqueous extract of A. absinthium (Ni/CuNPs@ A. absinthium). The NPs were chemically characterized and examined for antioxidant and anti-melanoma lung cancer activity. The formation of Ni/CuNPs@ A. absinthium was confirmed by analytical evaluations such as FT-IR spectroscopy by bands at 457, 509, 674, and 779 cm⁻¹. XRD revealed a crystalline structure for Ni/CuNPs@ A. absinthium. FE-SEM imaging shows a semispherical morphology with an average size of 52.34 nm. The antihuman melanoma effects of Ni/CuNPs@ A. absinthium against HT144, IPC-298, and SKMEL24 cell lines were determined using a colorimetric MTT examination. According to the results, the proportion of cancer cells that survived in different dilutions decreased over 3 days as the concentration of Ni/CuNPs@ A. absinthium rose. The best anticancer efficacy of Ni/CuNPs@ A. absinthium was revealed at a dilution of 1000 μg/mL. MTT data reported IC₅₀ values of 150, 170, and 147 μg/mL for Ni/CuNPs@ A. absinthium against HT144, IPC-298, and SKMEL24 human melanoma cells, respectively. These data indicated that Ni/CuNPs@ A. absinthium more strongly inhibited human melanoma cells relative to normal cells. Ni/CuNPs@ A. absinthium shows high antioxidant effects against DPPH.