A Tumor Microenvironment-Responsive Theranostic Agent for Synergetic Therapy of Disulfiram-Based Chemotherapy and Chemodynamic Therapy

J Phys Chem Lett. 2021 Nov 11;12(44):10880-10885. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.1c03184. Epub 2021 Nov 3.

Abstract

Despite the fact that chemotherapy has been widely used in the clinical treatment of breast cancer, the toxicity of chemotherapeutics to normal tissues cannot be ignored due to the low specificity. Therefore, due to the non-negligible toxicity of chemotherapeutic agents to normal tissues, tumor microenvironment (TME)-responsive cancer therapy has attracted a great deal of attention. Here, we report a TME-responsive theranostic nanoagent MnOx@PAA@HKUST-1-DSF@BSA fabricated via a layer-by-layer synthesis method. Once endocytosed by tumor cells, the nanoagent can be degraded into Mn2+ for magnetic resonance imaging and Cu2+ for Fenton-like reaction and chelating with released disulfiram in situ, achieving enhanced chemotherapy. Both in vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrate that the TME-targeted nanoagent can efficiently kill tumor cells. This work provides an alternative option for effective imaging and treatment of breast cancer without collateral damage to normal tissues.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antineoplastic Agents / chemical synthesis
  • Antineoplastic Agents / chemistry
  • Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacology*
  • Breast Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Breast Neoplasms / pathology
  • Cell Proliferation / drug effects
  • Cell Survival / drug effects
  • Disulfiram / chemical synthesis
  • Disulfiram / chemistry
  • Disulfiram / pharmacology*
  • Humans
  • Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental / drug therapy
  • Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental / pathology
  • Mice
  • Particle Size
  • Theranostic Nanomedicine
  • Tumor Microenvironment / drug effects

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Disulfiram