Cobalt Ferrite Nanoparticle as a Promising Therapeutic Approach for THP-1 Cells

Abstract

Currently, Researchers have highlighted the side effects of pharmaceutical drugs and chemical treatments, which prompted the exploration of alternatives like melittin peptide. Bee venom contains various bioactive compounds, including melittin (MEL) and apamin. MEL, a peptide with anti-inflammatory properties, affects NF-kB signalling pathway. However, MEL peptides can cause hemolysis and damage cell walls.In this study, we extracted MEL peptide from Iranian honey bee venom and confirmed its purity. Cobalt ferrite nanoparticles were synthesized, loaded with MEL peptide, and coated with calcium carbonate. The nanoparticles’ structure and function were analyzed by using various techniques. The cytotoxicity of these nanoparticles was assessed in macrophages from the THP-1 cell line using the MTT assay and also compared with the MEL peptide’s cytotoxicity alone.The study showed that successfully synthesized cobalt ferrite nanoparticles loaded with MEL peptide were successfully synthesized and coated with calcium carbonate and showed better hydrolysis reduction and macrophage cell survival compared to the MEL peptide alone. Furthermore, hemolytic activity and MTT analysis showed that they were less toxic than the MEL peptide alone at concentrations of 4 µg/mL.According to the obtained results, cobalt ferrite nanoparticles can be considered as an improvement in the performance and efficiency of MEL peptides and also, have potential applications in areas where healthy cells’ survival and reduced toxicity for them are crucial on the other hand, targeting cancerous cells is also pivotal specially in cancers treatments such as AML. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2025.