Controllable Growth and Assembling Strategies Based on Nanomaterials for Targeted and Precise Therapy of Malignant Cancers

Polydopamine-encapsulated zinc peroxide nanoparticles to target the metabolism-redox circuit against tumor adaptability for mild photothermal therapy

Regulating the metabolism-redox circuit of cancer cells has emerged as an attractive strategy to improve the therapeutic outcome, while often confronting the glaring issue of resistance due to the multiple adaptive responses of tumor cells. This study presents a simple yet efficient approach to regulate this circuit simultaneously against tumor adaptability by utilizing polydopamine-encapsulated zinc peroxide nanoparticles (ZnO2@PDA NPs). The nanoparticles could deliver large amounts of Zn2+ and H2O2 into tumor cells to unfold an intracellular self-amplifying loop for breaking the balance in zinc and redox homeostasis by H2O2-mediated endogenous Zn2+ release from metallothioneins due to its oxidation by H2O2 and Zn2+-induced in situ H2O2 production by disturbing mitochondrial respiration, ultimately disrupting tumor adaptability to exogenous stimuli. The elevated levels of Zn2+ and H2O2 also inhibited adenosine triphosphate (ATP) generation from glycolysis and mitochondrial respiration to disrupt energy adaptability. Furthermore, insufficient ATP supply could reduce glutathione and heat shock protein expression, thereby sensitizing oxidative stress and enabling PDA-mediated mild photothermal therapy (PTT). Consequently, this trinity nanoplatform, which integrated dual-starvation therapy, amplified oxidative stress, and mild PTT, demonstrated outstanding therapeutic effects and a facile strategy.

Aggregation of Gold Nanoparticles Triggered by Hydrogen Peroxide-Initiated Chemiluminescence for Activated Tumor Theranostics

Developing endogenous photo-activated theranostic platforms to overcome the limitation of low tissue-penetration from external light sources is highly significant for cancer diagnosis and treatment. We report a H₂ O₂ -initiated chemiluminescence (CL)-triggered nanoparticle aggregation strategy to activate theranostic functions of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) for effective tumor imaging and therapy. Two types of AuNPs (tAuNP & mAuNP) were designed and fabricated by conjugating 2,5-diphenyltetrazole and methacrylic acid onto the surface of AuNPs, respectively. Luminol was adsorbed onto the mAuNPs to afford self-illuminating mAuNP/Lu NPs that could produce strong CL by reaction with H₂ O₂ in the tumor microenvironment, which triggers significant aggregation of AuNPs resulting in enhanced accumulation and retention of AuNPs for activated photoacoustic imaging and photothermal therapy of tumors. We thus believe that this approach may offer a promising tool for effective tumor treatment.