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Quercetin, one of the major natural flavonoids, has demonstrated great pharmacological potential as an antioxidant and in overcoming drug resistance. However, its low aqueous solubility and poor stability limit its potential applications. Previous studies suggest that the formation of quercetin-metal complexes could increase quercetin stability and biological activity. In this paper, we systematically investigated the formation of quercetin-iron complex nanoparticles by varying the ligand-to-metal ratios with the goal of increasing the aqueous solubility and stability of quercetin. It was found that quercetin-iron complex nanoparticles could be reproducibly synthesized with several ligand-to-iron ratios at room temperature. The UV-Vis spectra of the nanoparticles indicated that nanoparticle formation greatly increased the stability and solubility of quercetin. Compared to free quercetin, the quercetin-iron complex nanoparticles exhibited enhanced antioxidant activities and elongated effects. Our preliminary cellular evaluation suggests that these nanoparticles had minimal cytotoxicity and could effectively block the efflux pump of cells, indicating their potential for cancer treatment.
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This content will become publicly available on October 1, 2026
Quantifying the Antioxidant Capacity of Inorganic Nanoparticles: Challenges and Analytical Solutions
Antioxidant properties of inorganic nanoparticles in aqueous media are attracting growing interest due to their high surface reactivity. Materials such as cerium oxide, iron oxide, silver, and gold exhibit distinct radical-scavenging behaviors at the nanoscale, but reliable quantification remains challenging. Conventional assays developed for molecular antioxidants cannot be directly applied because probes such as 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) require methanol–water mixtures and are unstable in aqueous nanoparticle suspensions, while other assays are affected by nanoparticle-induced absorption or fluorescence changes. Here we demonstrate strategies to correct these interferences by independently measuring nanoparticle optical properties after oxidation and customizing assay conditions to account for the dilute, per-particle concentrations of nanomaterials. Using a high-throughput 96-well format, four adapted assays revealed that silver, ceria, and iron oxide nanoparticles possess substantially higher antioxidant capacities than Trolox, while gold showed negligible activity. This optimized approach enables reproducible comparison of nanoparticle antioxidants and provides a platform for tailoring nanostructures with enhanced radical-scavenging properties.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2135687
- PAR ID:
- 10651578
- Publisher / Repository:
- MDPI
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Antioxidants
- Volume:
- 14
- Issue:
- 10
- ISSN:
- 2076-3921
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1254
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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