Decorated gold nanoparticles on baicalein/chitosan-modified zinc oxide nanoparticles for one-pot preparation of pyrano[2,3-d]pyrimidines and inhibiting the gastrointestinal stromal tumor progression by controlling the gene expression of the cell cycle.

A composite of gold nanoparticles decorated on baicalein/chitosan-modified zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO@CS-baicalein/Au NPs) was synthesized and tested in a gastrointestinal stromal tumor cell line. The prepared nanocomposite was characterized using SEM and TEM, FT-IR, EDX, XRD, ICP-OES, and elemental mapping. The heterogeneous catalyst demonstrated excellent catalytic performance in synthesizing pyrano[2,3-d]pyrimidines via a three-component reaction involving malononitrile, aryl aldehydes, and barbituric acid. Additionally, ZnO@CS-baicalein/Au NPs showed good recyclability, maintaining catalytic activity after being reused eight times without significantly declining performance. When exposed to ZnO@CS-baicalein/Au NPs, the cancer cell's viability reduced, resulting in an IC50 of 109 μg/mL. The report of the mTOR pathway indicated that ZnO@CS-baicalein/Au NPs and baicalein influence apoptosis and cell proliferation in ImGIST gastrointestinal stromal tumor cells through the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway modulation. It could be involved in the activation of apoptosis and cell cycle inhibition brought on by ZnO@CS-baicalein/Au NPs and baicalein. ZnO@CS-baicalein/Au NPs increased the levels of Bax, P53, and LDH release and reduced the levels of Bcl2 and pSTAT/STAT. The S phase of the cell cycle increased in the ImGIST after treating with the ZnO@CS-baicalein/Au NPs and baicalein, while the G0/G1 and G2/M phases reduced. Consequently, ZnO@CS-baicalein/Au NPs may be a useful anti-cancer therapeutic for gastrointestinal stromal tumor treatments.