Right Cu2- x S@MnS Core-Shell Nanoparticles as a Photo/H2O2-Responsive Platform for Effective Cancer Theranostics

Xiaojuan Huang; Guoying Deng; Yong Han; Guizhu Yang; Rujia Zou; Zhiyuan Zhang; Shuyang Sun; Junqing Hu

doi:10.1002/advs.201901461

Right Cu_2- _x S@MnS Core-Shell Nanoparticles as a Photo/H₂O₂-Responsive Platform for Effective Cancer Theranostics

Adv Sci (Weinh). 2019 Aug 27;6(20):1901461. doi: 10.1002/advs.201901461. eCollection 2019 Oct 16.

Authors

Xiaojuan Huang^{1

2

3}, Guoying Deng⁴, Yong Han^{1

2

3}, Guizhu Yang³, Rujia Zou⁵, Zhiyuan Zhang^{1

2

3}, Shuyang Sun^{1

2

3}, Junqing Hu^{5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Oral and Maxillofacial-Head & Neck Oncology Ninth People's Hospital Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine Shanghai 200011 P. R. China.
² National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases Shanghai 200011 P. R. China.
³ Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology & Shanghai Research Institute of Stomatology Shanghai 200011 P. R. China.
⁴ Trauma Center of Shanghai General Hospital Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine Shanghai 201620 P. R. China.
⁵ State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials College of Materials Science and Engineering Donghua University Shanghai 201620 P. R. China.
⁶ College of Health Science and Environmental Engineering Shenzhen Technology University Shenzhen 518118 P. R. China.

Abstract

Stimuli-responsive nanomedicines have become a recent research focus as a candidate for cancer treatment because of their effectiveness, sensibility, and minimal invasiveness. In this work, a novel nanosystem is developed based on Cu_2- _x S@MnS core-shell nanoparticles (CSNPs) in which the Cu_2- _x S core serves as a photosensitizer to generate hyperthermia and reactive oxygen species (ROS), and the MnS shell is used in H₂O₂-responsive O₂ production. Cu₂ _-x S@MnS CSNPs with an independent core and shell ratio are synthesized by a controllable hot-injection method, resulting in an optimal photothermal (PT) effect with a PT conversion efficiency of up to 47.9%. An enhanced photodynamic (PD) effect also occurs in an H₂O₂ environment. More significantly, in vivo experiments demonstrate that Cu₂ _-x S@MnS CSNPs can mediate tumor shrinkage in both HeLa tumor cell line-derived xenograft (CDX) and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models, with the capability of being used as a T1-enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) contrast agent. These results suggest the great potential of as-prepared Cu₂ _-x S@MnS CSNPs as photo/H₂O₂-responsive therapeutic-agents against tumors, even in a complicated and heterogeneous environment, thus promoting the clinical translation of nanomedicine.

Keywords: Cu2−xS@MnS; cancer treatment; patient‐derived xenografts; photo/H2O2‐responsive platforms; tumor cell line‐derived xenografts.