Preparation and Characterization of Magnetic Fe₃O₄/CdWO₄ and Fe₃O₄/CdWO₄/PrVO₄ Nanoparticles and Investigation of Their Photocatalytic and Anticancer Properties on PANC1 Cells

• Main Authors: Mohammad Amin Marsooli, Mahdi Fasihi-Ramandi, Kourosh Adib, Saeid Pourmasoud, Farhad Ahmadi, Mohammad Reza Ganjali, Ali Sobhani Nasab, Mahdi Rahimi Nasrabadi, Marta E. Plonska-Brzezinska
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-10-01
• Series: Materials
• Subjects: magnetic nanoparticle; fe₃o₄/cdwo₄; fe₃o₄/cdwo₄/prvo₄; sonochemical procedure; photocatalysis; methylene blue; cytotoxicity properties; mtt assay; human cell line; panc1 cells
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/12/19/3274

Fe₃O₄/CdWO₄ and Fe₃O₄/CdWO₄/PrVO₄ magnetic nanoparticles were prepared at different molar ratios of PrVO₄ to previous layers (Fe₃O₄/CdWO₄) via the co-precipitation method assisted by a sonochemical procedure, in order to investigate the photocatalytic performance of these systems and their cytotoxicity properties. The physico-chemical properties of these magnetic nanoparticles were determined via several experimental methods: X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy and ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflection spectroscopy, using a vibrating sample magnetometer and a scanning electron microscope. The average sizes of these nanoparticles were found to be in the range of 60−100 nm. The photocatalytic efficiency of the prepared nanostructures was measured by methylene blue degradation under visible light (assisted by H₂O₂). The magnetic nanosystem with a 1:2:1 ratio of three oxide components showed the best performance by the degradation of ca. 70% after 120 min of exposure to visible light irradiation. Afterwards, this sample was used for the photodegradation of methyl orange, methyl violet, fenitrothion, and rhodamine-B pollutants. Finally, the mechanism of the photocatalytic reaction was examined by releasing ^•OH under UV light in a system including terephthalic acid, as well as O^2−, OH, and hole scavengers. Additionally, the cytotoxicity of each synthesized sample was assessed using a 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay against the human cell line PANC1 (cancer), and its IC50 was approximately 125 mg/L.