Nano-Curcumin and Copper Nanoparticles as Enhanced Therapeutics for Lung Cancer: A Molecular Docking and Bioinformatics Study

The increased surface area-to-volume ratio and improved biological properties of nanoparticles have made them highly attractive for biomedical applications. In the present study, the cytotoxic effects of Cu, Curcumin, and the Curcumin–Cu complex were evaluated against A549 lung cancer cells using the MTT assay. Molecular docking demonstrated that the Curcumin–Cu complex exhibited the strongest binding affinity toward the HRAS protein (PDB ID: 6MQT), forming multiple hydrogen and ionic interactions with key active-site residues, suggesting a potential interaction with this therapeutic target. Bioinformatics analysis further identified HRAS as a highly expressed cancer-related gene in A549 cells and a key regulator of the MAPK signaling pathway. Experimentally, the Curcumin–Cu complex showed enhanced cytotoxic activity, while TaqMan real-time PCR targeting EGFR demonstrated molecular changes associated with lung cancer cells following treatment. Although the present study did not directly evaluate modulation of HRAS or the MAPK pathway, the computational and experimental findings collectively support the potential anticancer activity of the Curcumin–Cu complex and warrant further mechanistic investigations to confirm its mode of action.