"Four-in-One" Nanozyme for Amplified Catalytic-Photothermal Therapy

Abstract

The cancer therapeutic efficacy of the peroxidase (POD)-mimicking nanozyme-based monotherapy is significantly hindered due to insufficient intratumoral hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and glutathione (GSH) consumption effect on reactive oxygen species (ROS). In this study, we present the development of poly(o-phenylenediamine)@gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) (PoPD@Au) nanocomposites for multifunctional catalytic-photothermal therapy. These nanocomposites exhibit triple distinct nanozymatic activities, i.e., POD-like activity that catalyzes H₂O₂ to ROS, glucose oxidase (GOx)-like activity that supplements endogenous H₂O₂, and GSH depleting activity that decreases the ROS consumption efficiency. This open source and reduce expenditure strategy for ROS generation allows for the amplification of tumor oxidative stress, thereby enhancing anti-tumor efficiency. Additionally, the PoPD@Au nanocomposites demonstrate outstanding photothermal conversion efficiency, contributing to the synergistic effect between PoPD and AuNPs. Moreover, we reveal the improved photothermal performance of PoPD@Au triggered by the tumor microenvironment pH, which provides additional benefits for targeted catalytic-photothermal therapy. This "four-in-one" design of PoPD@Au enables efficient anti-tumor effects both in vitro and in vivo, making it a universal strategy for engineering catalytic-photothermal therapeutic nanoagents.

Keywords: Glucose oxidase-like nanozyme; Glutathione depletion; Peroxidase-like nanozyme; Photothermal therapy; Tumor microenvironment responsiveness.