Biomineralization-inspired nanozyme for single-wavelength laser activated photothermal-photodynamic synergistic treatment against hypoxic tumors

• Published in: Nanoscale Vol. 12; no. 6; pp. 451 - 46
• Main Authors: Xu, Pengping, Wang, Xueying, Li, Tuanwei, Wu, Huihui, Li, Lingli, Chen, Zhaolin, Zhang, Lei, Guo, Zhen, Chen, Qianwang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Royal Society of Chemistry 14.02.2020
• Subjects: Catalase; Chemotherapy; Hypoxia; Irradiation; Light therapy; Photodynamic therapy; Radiation therapy; Ruthenium oxide; Side effects; Singlet oxygen; Tumors
• ISSN: 2040-3364; 2040-3372
• DOI: 10.1039/c9nr08930f

Hypoxia, one of the features of most solid tumors, can severely impede the efficiency of oxygen-dependent treatments such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy and type-II photodynamic therapy. Herein, a catalase-like nanozyme RuO 2 @BSA (RB) was first prepared through a biomineralization strategy, and a high efficiency near-infrared photosensitizer (IR-808-Br 2 ) was further loaded into the protein shell to generate the safe and versatile RuO 2 @BSA@IR-808-Br 2 (RBIR) for the imaging-guided enhanced phototherapy against hypoxic tumors. RB not only acts like a catalase, but also serves as a photothermal agent that speeds up the oxygen supply under near-infrared irradiation (808 nm). The loaded NIR photosensitizer could immediately convert molecular oxygen (O 2 ) to cytotoxic singlet oxygen ( 1 O 2 ) upon the same laser irradiation. Results indicated that RBIR achieved enhanced therapeutic outcomes with negligible side effects. Features such as a simple synthetic route and imaging-guided and single-wavelength-excited phototherapy make the nanozyme a promising agent for clinical applications. Bio-inspired multifunctional nanozyme enables synergistic photothermal and photodynamic therapy for hypoxic solid tumors in vivo .