A group of experts from the University of Swansea, led by Sudhagar Pitchaimuthu, have used nanoparticles derived from tea to inhibit the growth of lung cancer cells, destroying up to 80% of them.
The team made the discovery while testing a new method to produce a type of nanoparticle called a quantum dot. These are tiny particles that measure less than 10 nanometers: a human hair is 40,000 nanometers thick.
The quantum dots can be made chemically, but it is a complicated and expensive process and has toxic side effects. Therefore, Pitchaimuthu’s team was exploring an alternative non-toxic method based on plants to produce them and an alternative was to use tea leaf extract.
Tea leaves contain a wide variety of compounds, including polyphenols, amino acids, vitamins and antioxidants. The researchers mixed the tea leaf extract with cadmium sulfate (CdSO4) and sodium sulfide (Na2S) and allowed the solution to incubate, a process that promotes the formation of quantum dots.
Then they applied these points to the lung cancer cells. The results, published in Applied Nano Materials, showed that it has a simpler, cheaper and less toxic method to produce quantum dots, compared to the use of chemical products.
“Our research – concludes Pitchaimuthu in a statement – confirmed the previous evidence that the leaf extract can be a non-toxic alternative to make quantum dots with chemicals The real surprise, however, was that the spots actively inhibited the growth of lung cancer cells . “
