Albumin-Stabilized Manganese Oxide/Semiconducting Polymer Nanocomposites for Photothermal-Chemodynamic Therapy of Hepatic Carcinoma

Qi Su; Changcun Liu; Jingyi Zhu; Mengbin Ding; Zhen Zhang; Jingchao Li; Qin Zhang

doi:10.3389/fbioe.2022.919235

Albumin-Stabilized Manganese Oxide/Semiconducting Polymer Nanocomposites for Photothermal-Chemodynamic Therapy of Hepatic Carcinoma

Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2022 Jun 6:10:919235. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2022.919235. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Qi Su¹, Changcun Liu², Jingyi Zhu³, Mengbin Ding⁴, Zhen Zhang⁴, Jingchao Li⁴, Qin Zhang⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Critical Care Medicine, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
² Department of Nuclear Medicine, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
³ School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, China.
⁴ Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Nano-Biomaterials and Regenerative Medicine, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai, China.
⁵ Institute of Translational Medicine, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China.

Abstract

Hepatic carcinoma is one of the most common cancers worldwide, while its treatment remains a great challenge. Traditional therapeutic methods often have disadvantages such as limited therapeutic efficacy and potential side effects. In this study, we report the construction of bovine serum albumin (BSA)-stabilized manganese oxide (MnO₂)/semiconducting polymer (SP) nanocomposites to combine photothermal therapy (PTT) and chemodynamic therapy (CDT) for treatment of hepatic carcinoma in living mouse models. Such nanocomposites are composed of BSA, SP, and MnO₂ as the stabilizer, PTT, and CDT agent, respectively. SP produced local heat under near-infrared (NIR) laser irradiation for PTT, and MnO₂ nanoparticles mediated CDT in the tumor microenvironment, leading to apoptosis of cancer cells. Such nanocomposite-mediated combinational therapy showed a much higher efficacy in inhibiting growth of subcutaneous HepG2 tumors in nude mice than sole treatment. This study thus provides a multifunctional nanoplatform for safe and effective treatment of hepatic carcinoma.

Keywords: chemodynamic therapy; combinational therapy; hepatic carcinoma; nanocomposites; photothermal therapy.