Assessment of gold nanoparticle effect on prostate cancer LNCaP cells

In recent years gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have received considerable attention for various biomedical applications including diagnostics and targeted drug delivery. However, more research is still needed to characterize such aspects of their use in clinical oncology as permeability, retention and functional effect on tumor cells. Aims: This study was designed to describe the effect of non-functionalized AuNPs on LNCaP prostate cancer cells growth. Material and Methods: LNCaP cells were cultured in ­RPMI-1640 medium containing AuNPs covered by polyvinylpyrrolidone of average size 26.4 nm (10.0 μg/ml). Counts of cells were calculated and their morphology was examined. Results: AuNPs conglomerates have been visualized in cultured cells. After 4-day incubation in presence of AuNPs significant retardation of LNCaP cells growth was observed both in 5α-dihydrotestosterone stimulated and non-stimulated cultures. No morphological changes of live LNCaP cells were seen in any experiment. Conclusion: Given absence of morphological changes in live cells and dribble and relatively constant numbers of dead cells, it was concluded that inhibitory effect of AuNPs on LNCaP cells growth was caused by alterations of proliferation. Key Words: prostate cancer, LNCaP, gold nanoparticles, 5α-dihydrotestosterone