Fig. 6

Effect of DS–CuO NPs on ROS generation and Redox mediators in three cancer types. a Relative fold increment in cellular ROS content after 48 h treatment with DS–CuO NPs and DS–Cu. b The inhibition percentage in ALDH1A activity, c Nrf2 transcriptional activation and d NF-κB expression in the treated cells relative to the untreated cancer cells. Data (mean ± SEM), DS–CuO NPs was compared to DS–Cu and considered significantly different at p <  < 0.05*, < 0.005**, < 0.001***