Bonsai-inspired AIE nanohybrid photosensitizer based on vermiculite nanosheets for ferroptosis-assisted oxygen self-sufficient photodynamic cancer therapy

作者：Yu, Xinghua; Zhang, Ying-Chuan; Yang, Xing; Huang, Ziyang; Zhang, Tianfu; Yang, Liusi; Meng, Wenjing; Liu, Xiaotong; Gong, Ping; Forni, Alessandra; Zheng, Zheng^*; Liu, Bilu; Zhang, Pengfei^*; Cai, Lintao; Tang, Ben Zhong^*

来源：Nano Today, 2022, 44: 101477.

DOI：10.1016/j.nantod.2022.101477

• Aggregation-induced emission
• Vermiculite
• Photodynamic therapy
• Oxygen self-sufficient
• Ferroptosis
• Tumor microenvironment

Oxygen-dependent photodynamic therapy (PDT) for cancer treatment based on aggregation-induced emission luminogen (AIEgen) photosensitizer shows limited efficiency in the hypoxic tumor micro environment (TME). To overcome tumor hypoxia-induced PDT resistance, a bonsai-inspired oxygen selfsufficient photodynamic cancer therapeutic system was developed based on AIEgen/vermiculite nanohybrid. Ultrathin nanosheets (NSs) were synthesized by lithium-ion intercalation from potting soil vermiculite for AIEgen photosensitizer (DCPy) loading through electrostatic attraction to produce NSs@DCPy (nano bonsai). When NSs@DCPy was absorbed by hypoxic the tumor and exposed to white light radiation, the NSs@DCPy could not only produce O-1(2) and center dot OH but also catalyze the H2O2 to generate O-2 for alleviating hypoxia significantly improving PDT efficacy. Surprisingly, NSs@DCPy could induce ferroptosis of the tumor by iron overload and depleting glutathione (GSH). Therefore, we provide a bonsai-inspired AIEgen-vermiculite nanohybrid platform for ferroptosis-assisted oxygen self-sufficient photodynamic cancer therapy.

• 单位
  i; 清华大学; 中国科学院