Near-Infrared Light Dual-Promoted Heterogeneous Copper Nanocatalyst for Highly Efficient Bioorthogonal Chemistry in Vivo

• Published in: ACS nano Vol. 14; no. 4; pp. 4178 - 4187
• Main Authors: You, Yawen, Cao, Fangfang, Zhao, Yajie, Deng, Qingqing, Sang, Yanjuan, Li, Yang, Dong, Kai, Ren, Jinsong, Qu, Xiaogang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 28.04.2020
• Subjects: Alkynes; Azides; Catalysis; Click Chemistry; Copper; Cycloaddition Reaction; photothermal; heterogeneous copper nanocatalyst; near-infrared light; bioorthogonal catalysis; photodynamic
• ISSN: 1936-0851; 1936-086X
• DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.9b08949

Owing to better stability and biosafety, heterogeneous Cu nanoparticles (CuNPs) have been put forward as a promising candidate to complete the Cu­(I)-catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction. However, the inherent poor activity of Cu(0) deterred its wide bioapplication. Herein, we employed near-infrared (NIR) light to dual-promote the CuAAC reaction of a biocompatible heterogeneous copper nanocatalyst through photodynamic and photothermal effects in vitro and in vivo. Specifically, the photodynamic activity could promote the conversion of Cu(0) to Cu­(I) to accelerate the catalytic process of CuAAC. The high photothermal conversion efficiency (η = 50.6%) could increase the local temperature, further promoting the whole reaction. Then, a drastically increased reaction rate in a living system ranging from cells to nematodes was achieved in our system. Meanwhile, the better antitumor efficacy has determined with in vivo tumor therapy experiments.