Au Nanorods Activated the Zn/Ce Composites with Cancer Cell Specific Cytotoxicity for Enhanced Chemodynamic Therapy.

Chemodynamic therapy based on the Fenton reaction has been developed as an extremely promising modality for cancer therapeutics. In this study, a core-shell structure nanoplatform was constructed by a Au nanorod externally encapsulating Ce/Zn-based composites (ACZO). The nanoparticles can catalyze the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) under acidic conditions and effectively consume existing glutathione (GSH) to destroy the redox balance within the tumor. Moreover, the decomposition of the nanocomplexes under acidic conditions releases large amounts of zinc ions, leading to zinc overload in cancer cells. The photothermal effect generated by the Au nanorods not only provides photothermal therapy (PTT) but also augments the catalytic reaction and ions action mentioned above. This facile strategy to improve the efficacy of chemodynamic therapy by the photothermal enhancement of catalytic activity and zinc ion release provides a promising perspective for potential tumor treatment.

FeP-Based Nanotheranostic Platform for Enhanced Phototherapy/Ferroptosis/Chemodynamic Therapy.

Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent and lipid peroxides (LPO)-overloaded programmed damage cell death, induced by glutathione (GSH) depletion and glutathione peroxide 4 (GPX4) inactivation. However, the inadequacy of endogenous iron and reactive oxygen species (ROS) restricts the efficacy of ferroptosis. To overcome this obstacle, a near-infrared photo-responsive FeP@PEG NPs is fabricated. Exogenous iron pool can enhance the effect of ferroptosis via the depletion of GSH and further regulate GPX4 inactivation. Generation of ·OH derived from the Fenton reaction is proved by increased accumulation of lipid peroxides. The heat generated by photothermal therapy and ROS generated by photodynamic therapy can enhance cell apoptosis under near-infrared (NIR-808 nm) irradiation, as evidenced by mitochondrial dysfunction and further accumulation of lipid peroxide content. FeP@PEG NPs can significantly inhibit the growth of several types of cancer cells in vitro and in vivo, which is validated by theoretical and experimental results. Meanwhile, FeP@PEG NPs show excellent T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) property. In summary, the FeP-based nanotheranostic platform for enhanced phototherapy/ferroptosis/chemodynamic therapy provides a reliable opportunity for clinical cancer theranostics.

Tumor Microenvironment-Activated Nanostructure to Enhance MRI Capability and Nanozyme Activity for Highly Tumor-Specific Multimodal Theranostics.

Copper-based nanozymes exhibit excellent antitumor activity but are easily inactivated due to the disturbance of proteins or other macromolecules with sulfhydryl. A tumor microenvironment-responsive CuMnO@Fe3O4 (CMF) core-shell nanozyme for highly efficient tumor theranostics is developed. A platelet-derived growth factor receptor-ß-recognizing cyclic peptide (PDGFB) target is conjugated to the surface of CMF to fabricate a tumor-specific nanozyme (PCMF). The core-shell nanostructure significantly avoids the oxidation and inactivation of copper-based nanozyme, promoting the antitumor activity of PCMF. The weak acid- and GSH-activated T1 and T2 relaxation rate of PCMF contributes to T1 and T2 dual contrast imaging at the tumor site. In addition, the PCMF disintegrates and produces some metal ions that possess Fenton catalytic activity (i.e., Cu+, Mn2+, and Fe2+) under TME. This process significantly depletes GSH, accelerates Fenton and Fenton-like reactions, enhances cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, and induces cancer cell apoptosis and ferroptosis. PCMF also exhibits photothermal functions, so it can be used in combined photothermal therapy, ferroptosis therapy, and chemodynamic therapy, improving anticancer activity. This work provides insights into the design of an exquisite nanostructure for high-sensitive and tumor-specific theranostics.

Tumor-Targeting Multiple Metabolic Regulations for Bursting Antitumor Efficacy of Chemodynamic Therapy.

Interfering with intratumoral metabolic processes is proven to effectively sensitize different antitumor treatments. Here, a tumor-targeting catalytic nanoplatform (CQ@MIL-GOX@PB) loading with autophagy inhibitor (chloroquine, CQ) and glucose oxidase (GOX) is fabricated to interfere with the metabolisms of tumor cells and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), then realizing effective antitumor chemodynamic therapy (CDT). Once accumulating in the tumor site with the navigation of external biotin, CQ@MIL-GOX@PB will release Fe ions and CQ in the acid lysosomes of tumor cells, the latter can sensitize Fe ions-involved antitumor CDT by blocking the autophagy-dependent cell repair. Meanwhile, the GOX component will consume glucose, which not only generates many H2O2 for CDT but also once again decelerates the tumor repair process by reducing energy metabolism. What is more, the release of CQ can also drive the NO anabolism of TAMs to further sensitize CDT. This strategy of multiple metabolic regulations is evidenced to significantly improve the antitumor effect of traditional CDT nanoagents and might provide a new sight to overcome the bottlenecks of different antitumor treatments.

Chirality of Copper-Amino Acid Nanoparticles Determines Chemodynamic Cancer Therapeutic Outcome.

Chirality is a prevalent characteristic in nature, where biological systems exhibit a significant preference for specific enantiomers of biomolecules. However, there is a limited exploration into utilizing nanomaterials' chirality to modulate their interactions with intracellular substances. In this study, self-assembled copper-cysteine chiral nanoparticles and explore the influence of their charity on cancer chemodynamic therapy (CDT) are fabricated. Experimental and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation results demonstrate that the copper-l-cysteine chiral nanoparticles (Cu-l-Cys NPs) exhibit a stronger affinity toward l-glutathione (l-GSH) that is overproduced in cancer cells, compared to the copper-d-cysteine enantiomer (Cu-d-Cys NPs). The interaction between Cu-l-Cys NPs and l-GSH triggers a redox reaction that depletes l-GSH and converts Cu2+ into Cu+. Subsequently, Cu+ catalyzes a Fenton-like reaction, decomposing H2O2 into highly cytotoxic hydroxyl radicals (•OH) for cancer CDT. In vivo, results confirm that Cu-l-Cys NPs with good biocompatibility elicit a pronounced cancer cell death and effectively inhibit tumor growth. This work proposes a new perspective on chirality-enhanced cancer therapy.

"Multi-in-One" Yolk-Shell Structured Nanoplatform Inducing Pyroptosis and Antitumor Immune Response Through Cascade Reactions.

Pyroptosis, a new mode of regulatory cell death, holds a promising prospect in tumor therapy. The occurrence of pyroptosis can trigger the release of damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) and activate the antitumor immune response. Moreover, enhancing intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation can effectively induce pyroptosis. Herein, an integrated nanoplatform (hCZAG) based on zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) with Cu2+ and Zn2+ as active nodes and glucose oxidase (GOx) loading is constructed to evoke pyroptosis. GOx can effectively elevate intracellular hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) levels to regulate the unfavorable tumor microenvironment (TME). Cu2+ can be reduced to Cu+ by endogenous overexpressed GSH and both Cu2+ and Cu+ can exert Fenton-like activity to promote ROS generation and amplify oxidative stress. In addition, the accumulation of Cu2+ leads to the aggregation of lipoylated dihydrolipoamide S-acetyltransferase (DLAT), thus resulting in cuproptosis. Notably, the outburst of ROS induced by hCZAG activates Caspase-1 proteins, leads to the cleavage of gasdermin D (GSDMD), and induces pyroptosis. Pyroptosis further elicits an adaptive immune response, leading to immunogenic cell death (ICD). This study provides effective strategies for triggering pyroptosis-mediated immunotherapy and achieving improved therapeutic effects.

Manganese Amplifies Photoinduced ROS in Toluidine Blue Carbon Dots to Boost MRI Guided Chemo/Photodynamic Therapy.

The contrast agents and tumor treatments currently used in clinical practice are far from satisfactory, due to the specificity of the tumor microenvironment (TME). Identification of diagnostic and therapeutic reagents with strong contrast and therapeutic effect remains a great challenge. Herein, a novel carbon dot nanozyme (Mn-CD) is synthesized for the first time using toluidine blue (TB) and manganese as raw materials. As expected, the enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) imaging capability of Mn-CDs is realized in response to the TME (acidity and glutathione), and r1 and r2 relaxation rates are enhanced by 224% and 249%, respectively. In addition, the photostability of Mn-CDs is also improved, and show an efficient singlet oxygen (1 O2 ) yield of 1.68. Moreover, Mn-CDs can also perform high-efficiency peroxidase (POD)-like activity and catalyze hydrogen peroxide to hydroxyl radicals, which is greatly improved under the light condition. The results both in vitro and in vivo demonstrate that the Mn-CDs are able to achieve real-time MR imaging of TME responsiveness through aggregation of the enhanced permeability and retention effect at tumor sites and facilitate light-enhanced chemodynamic and photodynamic combination therapies. This work opens a new perspective in terms of the role of carbon nanomaterials in integrated diagnosis and treatment of diseases.

Applications of Boron Cluster Supramolecular Frameworks as Metal-Free Chemodynamic Therapy Agents for Melanoma.

Chemodynamic therapy (CDT) is a highly targeted approach to treat cancer since it converts hydrogen peroxide into harmful hydroxyl radicals (OH·) through Fenton or Fenton-like reactions. However, the systemic toxicity of metal-based CDT agents has limited their clinical applications. Herein, a metal-free CDT agent: 2,4,6-tri(4-pyridyl)-1,3,5-triazine (TPT)/ [closo-B12 H12 ]2- (TPT@ B12 H12 ) is reported. Compared to the traditional metal-based CDT agents, TPT@B12 H12 is free of metal avoiding cumulative toxicity during long-term therapy. Density functional theory (DFT) calculation revealed that TPT@B12 H12 decreased the activation barrier more than 3.5 times being a more effective catalyst than the Fe2+ ion (the Fenton reaction), which decreases the barrier about twice. Mechanismly, the theory calculation indicated that both [B12 H12 ]-· and [TPT-H]2+ have the capacity to decompose hydrogen into 1 O2 , OH·, and O2 -· . With electron paramagnetic resonance and fluorescent probes, it is confirmed that TPT@B12 H12 increases the levels of 1 O2 , OH·, and O2 -· . More importantly, TPT@B12 H12 effectively suppress the melanoma growth both in vitro and in vivo through 1 O2 , OH·, and O2 -· generation. This study specifically highlights the great clinical translational potential of TPT@B12 H12 as a CDT reagent.

Modulating the Coordination Environment of Carbon-Dot-Supported Fe Single-Atom Nanozymes for Enhanced Tumor Therapy.

Herein, carbon dot (CD)-supported Fe single-atom nanozymes with high content of pyrrolic N and ultrasmall size (ph-CDs-Fe SAzyme) are fabricated by a phenanthroline-mediated ligand-assisted strategy. Compared with phenanthroline-free nanozymes (CDs-Fe SAzyme), ph-CDs-Fe SAzyme exhibit higher peroxidase (POD)-like activity due to their structure similar to that of ferriporphyrin in natural POD. Aberration-corrected high-angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM) and X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (XAFS) analyses show that metal Fe is dispersed in ph-CDs-Fe SAzyme as single atoms. Steady-state kinetic studies show that the maximum velocity (Vmax ) and turnover number (kcat ) of H2 O2  homolytic cleavage catalyzed by ph-CDs-Fe SAzyme are 3.0 and 6.2 more than those of the reaction catalyzed by CDs-Fe SAzyme. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations show that the energy barrier of the reaction catalyzed by ph-CDs-Fe SAzyme is lower than that catalyzed by CDs-Fe SAzyme. Antitumor efficacy experiments show that ph-CDs-Fe SAzyme can efficiently inhibit the growth of tumor cells both in vitro and in vivo by synergistic chemodynamic and photothermal effects. Here a new paradigm is provided for the development of efficient antitumor therapeutic approaches based on SAzyme with POD-like activity.

Mn(II) Optimized Sono/Chemodynamic Effect of Porphyrin-Metal-Organic Framework Nanosheets for MRI-Guided Colon Cancer Therapy and Metastasis Suppression.

Sonodynamic therapy (SDT) offers a remarkable non-invasive ultrasound (US) treatment by activating sonosensitizer and generating reactive oxygen species (ROS) to inhibit tumor growth. The development of multifunctional, biocompatible, and highly effective sonosensitizers remains a current priority for SDT. Herein, the first report that Mn(II) ions chelated Gd-TCPP (GMT) nanosheets (NSs) are synthesized via a simple reflux method and encapsulated with pluronic F-127 to form novel sonosensitizers (GMTF). The GMTF NSs produce a high yield of ROS under US irradiation due to the decreased highest occupied molecular orbital-lowest unoccupied molecular orbital gap energy (2.7-1.28 eV). Moreover, Mn(II) ions endow GMTF with a fascinating Fenton-like activity to produce hydroxyl radicals in support of chemodynamic therapy (CDT). It is also effectively used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with high relaxation rate (r 1: 4.401 mM-1 s-1) to track the accumulation of NSs in tumors. In vivo results indicate that the SDT and CDT in combination with programmed cell death protein 1 antibody (anti-PD-1) show effective metastasis prevention effects, and 70% of the mice in the GMTF + US + anti-PD-1 group survived for 60 days. In conclusion, this study develops a sonosensitizer with promising potential for utilizing both MRI-guided SDT and CDT strategies.

CAR T Cell Membrane Camouflaged Nanocatalyst Augments CAR T Cell Therapy Efficacy Against Solid Tumor.

The immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) reduces the chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy against solid tumors. Here, a CAR T cell membrane-camouflaged nanocatalyst (ACSP@TCM) is prepared to augment CAR T cell therapy efficacy against solid tumors. ACSP@TCM is prepared by encapsulating core/shell Au/Cu2- xSe and 3-bromopyruvate with a CAR T cell membrane. It is demonstrated that the CAR T cell membrane camouflaging has much better-targeting effect than the homologous tumors cell membrane camouflaging. ACSP@TCM has an appealing synergistic chemodynamic/photothermal therapy (CDT/PTT) effect that can induce the immunogenic cell death (ICD) of NALM 6 cells. Moreover, 3-bromopyruvate can inhibit the efflux of lactic acid by inhibiting the glycolysis process, regulating the acidity of TME, and providing a more favorable environment for the survival of CAR T cells. In addition, the photoacoustic (PA) imaging and computed tomography (CT) imaging performance can guide the ACSP@TCM-mediated tumor therapy. The results demonstrated that the ACSP@TCM significantly enhanced the CAR T cell therapy efficacy against NALM 6 solid tumor mass, and completely eliminated tumors. This work provides an effective tumor strategy for CAR T cell therapy in solid tumors.

Multi-Enzyme Activity of MIL-101 (Fe)-Derived Cascade Nano-Enzymes for Antitumor and Antimicrobial Therapy.

The clinical application of oncology therapy is hampered by high glutathione concentrations, hypoxia, and inefficient activation of cell death mechanisms in cancer cells. In this study, Fe and Mo bimetallic sulfide nanomaterial (FeS2@MoS2) based on metal-organic framework structure is rationally prepared with peroxidase (POD)-, catalase (CAT)-, superoxide dismutase (SOD)-like activities and glutathione depletion ability, which can confer versatility for treating tumors and mending wounds. In the lesion area, FeS2@MoS2 with SOD-like activity can facilitate the transformation of superoxide anions (O2 -) to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and then the resulting H2O2 serves as a substrate for the Fenton reaction with FMS to produce highly toxic hydroxyl radicals (∙OH). Simultaneously, FeS2@MoS2 has an ability to deplete glutathione (GSH) and catalyze the decomposition of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) to curb the regeneration of GSH from the source. Thus it can realize effective tumor elimination through synergistic apoptosis-ferroptosis strategy. Based on the alteration of the H2O2 system, free radical production, glutathione depletion and the alleviation of hypoxia in the tumor microenvironment, FeS2@MoS2 NPS can not only significantly inhibit tumors in vivo and in vitro, but also inhibit multidrug-resistant bacteria and hasten wound healing. It may open the door to the development of cascade nanoplatforms for effective tumor treatment and overcoming wound infection.

Unprecedented Organogermanium Functionalized GeIV-SbIII-Templating Polyoxotungstate Nanocluster for Photothermal-Chemodynamic Cancer Therapy.

The function-oriented synthesis of polyoxometalate (POM) nanoclusters has become an increasingly important area of research. Herein, the well-known broad-spectrum anticancer drug Ge-132 which contains GeIV as potential heteroatoms and carboxyl coordination sites, is introduced to the POM system, leading to the first organogermanium functionalized GeIV-SbIII-templating POM nanocluster Na4[H2N(CH3)2]16 H18[Sm4(H2O)12W4O14Ge(CH2CH2COOH)]2[SbW9O33]4[Ge(CH2CH2COOH) SbW15O54]2·62H2O (1). An unprecedented organogermanium templating Dawson-like [Ge(CH2CH2COOH)SbW15O54]12- building block is discovered. To take advantage of the potential pharmaceutical activity of such an organogermanium-functionalized POM cluster, 1 is further composited with gold nanoparticles (NPs) to prepare 1-Au NPs, which doubles the blood circulation time of 1-based nanodrug. Efficient separation of photogenerated charges in 1-Au NPs largely boosts the photothermal conversion efficiency (PCE = 55.0%), which is nearly 2.1 times that of either single 1 (PCE = 26.7%) or Au NPs (PCE = 26.2%), and simultaneously facilitate the generation of toxic activate reactive oxygen species in tumor microenvironment. Based on these findings, it is demonstrated that 1-Au NPs are a multifunctional and renal clearable nanomedicine with great potential in photoacoustic imaging guiding photothermal-chemodynamic therapy for breast cancer.

CoFeSe2 @DMSA@FA Nanocatalyst for Amplification of Oxidative Stress to Achieve Multimodal Tumor Therapy.

Nanomedicine has significantly advanced precise tumor therapy, providing essential technical blessing for active drug accumulation, targeted consignment, and mitigation of noxious side effects. To enhance anti-tumor efficacy, the integration of multiple therapeutic modalities has garnered significant attention. Here, we designed an innovative CoFeSe2 @DMSA@FA nanocatalyst with Se vacancies (abbreviated as CFSDF), which exhibits synergistic chemodynamic therapy (CDT) and photothermal therapy (PTT), leading to amplified tumor oxidative stress and enhanced photothermal effects. The multifunctional CFSDF nanocatalyst exhibits the remarkable ability to catalyze the Fenton reaction within the acidic tumor microenvironment, efficiently converting hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 ) into highly harmful hydroxyl radicals (⋅OH). Moreover, the nanocatalyst effectively diminishes GSH levels and ameliorates intracellular oxidative stress. The incorporation of FA modification enables CFSDF to evade immune detection and selectively target tumor tissues. Numerous in vitro and in vivo investigations have consistently demonstrated that CFSDF optimizes its individual advantages and significantly enhances therapeutic efficiency through synergistic effects of multiple therapeutic modalities, offering a valuable and effective approach to cancer treatment.

Hollow CeO2-Base Nanozyme with Self-Accelerated Cascade Reactions for Combined Tumor Therapy.

Nanozymes have obvious advantages in improving the efficiency of cancer treatment. However, due to the lack of tissue specificity, low catalytic efficiency, and so on, their clinical applications are limited. Herein, the nanoplatform CeO2@ICG@GOx@HA (CIGH) with self-accelerated cascade reactions is constructed. The as-prepared nanozyme shows the superior oxidase (OXD)-like, superoxide dismutase (SOD)-like, catalase (CAT)-like, and peroxidase (POD)-like activities. At the same time, under 808 nm near-infrared (NIR) irradiation, the photodynamic and photothermal capabilities are also significantly enhanced due to the presence of indocyanine green (ICG). We demonstrate that the nanozyme CIGH can efficiently accumulate in the tumor and exhibit amplified cascade antitumor effects with negligible systemic toxicity through the combination of photodynamic therapy (PDT), photothermal therapy (PTT), chemodynamic therapy (CDT) and starvation therapy. The nanozyme prepared in this study provides a promising candidate for catalytic nanomedicines for efficient tumor therapy.

A BODIPY-Ferrocene Conjugate for the Combined Photodynamic Therapy and Chemodynamic Therapy with Improved Antitumor Efficiency.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) can destroy tumor cells by generating singlet oxygen (1O2) under light irradiation, which is limited by the hypoxia of the neoplastic tissue. Chemodynamic therapy (CDT) can produce toxic hydroxyl radical (•OH) to eradicate tumor cells by catalytic decomposition of endogenous hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), the therapeutic effect of which is highly dependent on the concentration of H2O2. Herein, we propose a BODIPY-ferrocene conjugate with a balanced 1O2 and •OH generation capacity, which can serve as a high-efficiency antitumor agent by combining PDT and CDT. The ferrocene moieties endow the as-prepared conjugates with the ability of chemodynamic killing of tumor cells. Moreover, combined PDT/CDT therapy with improved antitumor efficiency can be realized after exposure to light irradiation. Compared with the monotherapy by PDT or CDT, the BODIPY-ferrocene conjugates can significantly increase the intracellular ROS levels of the tumor cells after light irradiation, thereby inducing the tumor cell apoptosis at low drug doses. In this way, a synergistic antitumor treatment is achieved by the combination of PDT and CDT.

Metal-Organic Framework PCN-224 Combined Cobalt Oxide Nanoparticles for Hypoxia Relief and Synergistic Photodynamic/Chemodynamic Therapy.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) and chemodynamic therapy (CDT) are promising tumor treatments mediated by reactive oxygen species (ROS), which have the advantages of being minimally invasive. However, the hypoxia of tumor microenvironment and poor target ability often reduce the therapeutic effect. Here we propose a tumor targeted nanoplatform PCN-224@Co3O4-HA for enhanced PDT and synergistic CDT, constructed by hyaluronate-modified Co3O4 nanoparticles decorated metal-organic framework PCN-224. Co3O4 can catalyze the decomposition of highly expressed H2O2 in tumor cells to produce oxygen and alleviate the problem of hypoxia. It can also produce hydroxyl radicals according to the Fenton-like reaction for chemical dynamic therapy, significantly improving the therapeutic effect. The cell survival experiment showed that after in vitro treatment, 4T1 and MCF-7 cancer cells died in a large area under the anaerobic state, while the survival ability of normal cell L02 was nearly unchanged. This result effectively indicated that PCN-224@Co3O4-HA could effectively relieve tumor hypoxia and improve the effect of PDT and synergistic CDT. Cell uptake experiments showed that PCN-224@Co3O4-HA had good targeting properties and could effectively aggregate in tumor cells. In vivo experiments on mice, PCN-224@Co3O4-HA presented reliable biosafety performance, and can cooperate with PDT and CDT therapy to prevent the growth of tumor.

A Combination of Biocatalysis and Fenton-Like Reaction Induced OH• Burst for Cascade Amplification of Cancer Chemodynamic Therapy.

Chemodynamic therapy (CDT) is a novel antitumor strategy that employs Fenton or Fenton-like reactions to generate highly toxic hydroxyl radical (OH•) from hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) for inducing tumor cell death. However, the antitumor efficacy of the CDT strategy is harshly limited by the redox homeostasis of tumor cells; especially the OH • is easily scavenged by glutathione (GSH) and the intracellular H2O2 level is insufficient in the tumor cells. Herein, we propose the Mn2+-menadione (also known as vitamin K3, MK3) cascade biocatalysis strategy to disrupt the redox homeostasis of tumor cells and induce a OH• storm, resulting in enhanced CDT effect. A nanoliposome encapsulating Mn-MK3 (Mn-MK3@LP) was prepared for the treatment of hepatic tumors in this study. After Mn-MK3@LPs were taken up by tumor cells, menadione could facilitate the production of intracellular H2O2 via redox cycling, and further the cytotoxic OH • burst was induced by Mn2+-mediated Fenton-like reaction. Moreover, high-valent manganese ions were reduced by GSH and the depletion of GSH further disrupted the redox homeostasis of tumor cells, thus achieving synergistically enhanced CDT. Overall, both cellular and animal experiments confirmed that the Mn-MK3@LP cascade biocatalysis nanoliposome exhibited excellent biosafety and tumor suppression efficacy. This study may provide deep insights for developing novel CDT-based strategies for tumor therapy.

Self-amplified activatable nanoprodrugs for enhanced chemodynamic/chemo combination therapy.

Chemodynamic therapy (CDT) has gained increasing attention by virtue of its high tumor specificity and low side effect. However, the low concentration of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in the tumor site suppresses the therapeutic efficacy of CDT. To improve the efficacy, introducing other kind of therapeutic modality is a feasible choice. Herein, we develop a self-amplified activatable nanomedicine (PCPTH NP) for chemodynamic/chemo combination therapy. PCPTH NP is composed of a H2O2-activatable amphiphilic prodrug PEG-PCPT and hemin. Upon addition of H2O2, the oxalate linkers within PCPTH NP are cleaved, which makes the simultaneous release of CPT and hemin. The released CPT can not only kill cancer cells but also upregulate the intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) level. The elevated ROS level may accelerate the release of drugs and enhance the CDT efficacy. PCPTH NP shows a H2O2concentration dependent release profile, and can effectively catalyze H2O2into hydroxyl radical (·OH) under acidic condition. Compared with PCPT NP without hemin, PCPTH NP has better anticancer efficacy bothin vitroandin vivowith high biosafety. Thus, our study provides an effective approach to improve the CDT efficacy with high tumor specificity.

Dual chemodynamic/photothermal therapeutic nanoplatform based on DNA-functionalized prussian blue.

The combination of chemodynamic therapy and photothermal therapy has a promising application owing to its impressive anti-cancer effects. However, the degradability of the material and the lack of targeting severely limit its further clinical application. Herein, DNAs containing nucleolin aptamer (AS1411) and different bases sequences were used to functionalize PB NPs for the targeted treatment. Compared to prussian blue, DNA-functionalized prussian blue does not reduce the photothermal properties of prussian blue. Moreover, DNA confers DNA-functionalized prussian blue targeting and higher enzymatic activity, thereby achieving a more effective combination of chemodynamic and photothermal treatment. The therapeutic efficacy of this nanoplatform was evaluated in vivo and in vitro experiments, exhibiting that DNA-functionalized prussian blue nanozyme can maximize the precise control of the therapeutic effect, reduce the toxic and side effects caused by non-specific accumulation on other normal cells, and effectively achieve targeted killing of cancer cells. This work demonstrates that DNA-functionalized prussian blue can improve the efficiency of combined tumor treatment and enhance the application value of prussian blue in tumor treatment, which is expected to provide theoretical support for clinical application.