Objective: Prostate carcinoma is a serious public health in men with increasing incidence and mortality rates. The present study aimed to investigate cytotoxic activities of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) against PC-3 human prostate cancer cell line in vitro.

Materials and Methods: The antiproliferative effect of AgNPs on PC-3 cells was assessed using various concentrations of AgNPs (5-80 µg/mL) by MTT assay. We have also investigated the effect of AgNPs on the migration property of cancers cells using a wound-healing assay. Then, obtained results were analyzed using ANOVA and Student’s t-test.

Results: The AgNPs diminished significantly the viability of PC-3 cells in a dose and time-dependent manner. According to the dose-dependent viability curve, the IC50 (50% inhibiting concentration) at 48 h was calculated to be 65.7 µg/mL. Migration assay also confirmed the antimetastatic potential of the AgNPs against PC-3 cells. After 24 h, the migration rate was 2.5 fold lower for AgNPs-treated cells compared to control cells.

Conclusions: Our findings support the use of AgNPs as an appropriate option for future therapeutic application in prostate cancer therapy.