Nanoheterojunction Engineering Enables NIR‐II‐Triggered Photonic Hyperthermia and Pyroelectric Catalysis for Tumor‐Synergistic Therapy

Abstract

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) as a non-invasive strategy shows high promise in cancer treatment. However, owing to the hypoxic tumor microenvironment and light irradiation-mediated rapid electron-hole pair recombination, the therapeutic efficacy of PDT is dramatically discounted by limited reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. Herein, a multifunctional theranostic nanoheterojunction is rationally developed, in which 2D niobium carbide (Nb 2 C) MXene is in situ grown with barium titanate (BTO) to generate a robust photo-pyroelectric catalyst, termed as BTO@Nb 2 C nanosheets, for enhanced ROS production, originating from the effective electron-hole pair separation induced by the pyroelectric effect. Under the second nearinfrared (NIR-II) laser irradiation, Nb 2 C MXene core-mediated photonic hyperthermia regulates temperature variation around BTO shells facilitating the electron-hole spatial separation, which reacts with the surrounding O 2 and H 2 O molecules to yield toxic ROS, achieving a synergetic effect by means of combinaterial photothermal therapy with pyrocatalytic therapy. Correspondingly, the engineered BTO@Nb 2 C composite nanosheets feature benign biocompatibility and high antitumor efficiency with the tumorinhibition rate of 94.9% in vivo, which can be applied as an imaging-guided real-time non-invasive synergetic dual-mode therapeutic nanomedicine for efficient tumor nanotherapy.

A Multifunctional Bimetallic Nanoplatform for Synergic Local Hyperthermia and Chemotherapy Targeting HER2‐Positive Breast Cancer

“…The extinction coefficient (ε) of PPAH was calculated to be 4.11 L g −1 cm −1 at 808 nm according to the Lambert‐Beer law (Figure 2B ), revealing that PPAH NPs could serve as highly effective photothermal conversion reagent. [ 21 , 22 ] To evaluate their photothermal performance, an aqueous PPAH solution was subjected to an NIR laser for 10 min. Temperature variations and corresponding images were captured using an infrared thermographic camera.…”

Mitochondrial-Targeting Nanotrapper Captured Copper Ions to Alleviate Tumor Hypoxia for Amplified Photoimmunotherapy in Breast Cancer

“…Hypoxia, a pervasive characteristic in solid tumors, could disrupt DNA damage repair pathways and suppress intratumor heterogeneity as well as immune responses, thereby facilitating tumor progression and metastasis. − Hypoxia arises from the imbalance between the heightened oxygen (O 2 ) demand triggered by rapid proliferation of tumor cells and the inadequate oxygen supply due to the aberrant and compromised tumor vascular system. − Enhancing the O 2 supply, which is achieved either by direct generation of O 2 at the tumor site or normalization of disordered tumor vasculature to enhance oxygen delivery, represents the primary strategy for alleviating tumor hypoxia . However, the transient alleviation of hypoxia fails to address the underlying issue of increased O 2 consumption resulting from the rapid proliferation of tumor cells .…”

Aptamer-Modified Nb2C Multifunctional Nanomedicine for Targeted Photothermal/Chemotherapy Combined Therapy of Tumor

“…This limitation results in the inability to achieve ablation of deep tumor tissues. Excitingly, Nb 2 C MXenes showed high photothermal conversion efficiency (PTCE) in both NIR-I (750–1000 nm) and NIR-II (1000–1350 nm) biowindows, which could be used for tumor treatment without causing normal tissues damage. ,− The deeper tissue penetration and higher maximum permissible exposure (MPR) in the NIR-II biowindow offer the potential for clinical tumor treatment without causing side effects. , The construction of Nb 2 C-based nanocomposite system has led to the development of various new treatment methods, such as PTT/chemotherapy (CHT) combined therapy, , PTT/CDT combined therapy, , and PTT/immunotherapy (IT) combined therapy …”