Highly dispersed nano-enzyme triggered intracellular catalytic reaction toward cancer specific therapy

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Nanotechnology
• Cancer Therapy

Background:

• Reactive oxygen species (ROS)-induced apoptosis is a promising cancer therapy strategy due to tumor specificity and biocompatibility.
• Developing efficient and targeted ROS generation systems remains a challenge in cancer treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a highly dispersed nano-enzyme for enhanced ROS generation and tumor-specific apoptosis.
• To investigate the catalytic activity and antitumor efficacy of the novel GOD/CoFe-LDHs nano-enzyme.

Main Methods:

• Assembly of glucose oxidase (GOD) onto CoFe-layered double hydroxides (CoFe-LDHs) monolayer nanosheets.
• Evaluation of Fenton catalytic activity and kinetics (Vmax, KM) of the GOD/CoFe-LDHs nanohybrid.
• In vitro and in vivo assessment of the nano-enzyme's antitumor effect through intracellular ROS generation.

Main Results:

• The GOD/CoFe-LDHs nanosheets exhibited significantly enhanced Fenton catalytic activity (rate constant 3.26 × 10⁻⁴ s⁻¹).
• The nanohybrid efficiently converted glucose into hydroxyl radicals under tumor acidic conditions, demonstrating high catalytic efficiency (Vmax = 2.23 × 10⁻⁶ M, KM = 5.40 mM).
• Both in vitro and in vivo studies confirmed the excellent antitumor effect of GOD/CoFe-LDHs.

Conclusions:

• A self-supplied, ultra-efficient, and sequential catalytic tumor-specific therapy was achieved using the GOD/CoFe-LDHs nano-enzyme.
• This novel nano-enzyme holds significant promise for clinical cancer therapy with reduced side effects.