Rapid sono-microwave synthesis of V₂O₃ NPs: structural enhancement and Bax/Bcl-2-mediated apoptosis in cancer cells, in vitro and molecular docking insights.

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.