AUTHOR=Li Hongfeng , Li Ying , Xiang Jingjing , Yang Xing , Li Chunbing , Liu Chuangjun , Zhao Qi , Zhou Lihua , Gong Ping , Huang Jiahao 

TITLE=Intelligent Bimetallic Nanoagents as Reactive Oxygen Species Initiator System for Effective Combination Phototherapy

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/bioengineering-and-biotechnology/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2020.00423

DOI=10.3389/fbioe.2020.00423

ISSN=2296-4185

ABSTRACT=<p>Phototherapy is a promising oncotherapy method. However, there are various factors greatly restricted phototherapy development, including poor tumor-specific accumulation, the hypoxia in solid tumor, and the systemic phototoxicity of photosensitizer. Herein, a tumor microenvironment (TME)-responsive intelligent bimetallic nanoagents (HSA-Pd-Fe-Ce6 NAs) composed of human serum albumin (HSA), palladium-iron (Pd-Fe) bimetallic particles, and chlorin e6 (Ce6) was designed for effective combination phototherapy. The Pd-Fe part in the HSA-Pd-Fe-Ce6 NAs would react with the endogenous hydrogen peroxide (H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>) in an acidic ambiance within tumor to generate cytotoxic superoxide anion free radical through the “Fenton-like reaction.” H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>, coupled with highly toxic singlet oxygen (<sup>1</sup>O<sub>2</sub>) caused by the Ce6 component under the irradiation of 660 nm laser, resulted in synergistic cancer therapy effects in hypoxia surroundings. Besides, this nanoagents could result in hyperpyrexia-induced cell apoptosis because of superior absorption performance in near-infrared wavelength window bringing about excellent photothermal conversion efficiency. The cell cytotoxicity results showed that the survival rate after treated by 40 μg mL<sup>–1</sup> nanoagents was only 17%, which reveals that the HSA-Pd-Fe-Ce6 NAs had the advantage of efficient and controllable phototherapy. In short, it exhibited excellent hypoxia-resistant combination phototherapy efficacy <italic>in vitro</italic>. Therefore, the multifunctional nanoagents are powerful and provide a new avenue for effective combination phototherapy.</p>