Rapid sono–microwave synthesis of V₂O₃ NPs: structural enhancement and Bax/Bcl-2–mediated apoptosis in cancer cells, in vitro and molecular docking insights
摘要
V₂O₃ NPs were successfully synthesized using a sono-microwave method with NH₄VO₃ and CTAB as raw materials. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized using XRD, FESEM, EDS, UV–Vis, and FTIR techniques, with the results confirming the formation of crystalline plate-like nanostructures with sheets ranges from 100 to 200 nm and the length of the plate is in the range of 100–500 nm. The method has apparent efficiency, simplicity, and low cost for preparing V₂O₃. Moreover, V₂O₃ NPs were displayed in a molecular docking, and the data visualized the best prediction of inhibition towards lung, breast, and colon carcinoma. The findings showed that lung cancer with ID: 2P85 evaluated a significant total binding energy of − 9.49 kcal/mol. V₂O₃ nanoparticles exhibited potent, dose-dependent cytotoxicity against A549, HT-29, and MCF-10 cancer cell lines, as confirmed by MTT assays. V₂O₃ NPs demonstrated significant anticancer activity against lung, breast, and colorectal cancer cell models after 72 h of exposure to a concentration of 40 μg/ml. The results confirmed a clear concentration-dependent cytotoxic effect, supported by a marked modulation of apoptosis-related biomarkers. V₂O₃ NPs notably increased Bax protein expression while simultaneously decreasing BCl2 levels in all treated cancer cell lines compared to untreated control samples. Consequently, the Bax/BCl2 ratio increased considerably, reaching 2.76 in HT-29 cells, 2.20 in MCF-7 cells, and 1.68 in A549 cells, a suggestion of the mitochondrial apoptotic path.