Injectable thermo-sensitive hydrogel loaded hollow copper sulfide nanoparticles for ROS burst in TME and effective...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Nanotechnology
• Oncology

Background:

• Lung cancer remains a leading cause of cancer mortality, with current treatments often lacking specificity and efficacy.
• There is a critical need for innovative therapeutic strategies to improve lung cancer treatment outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an injectable, thermosensitive hydrogel system (CLH) for targeted lung tumor therapy.
• To investigate the combined photothermal and chemodynamic therapeutic effects of the CLH system.
• To evaluate the controlled release of copper ions and β-lapachone for enhanced tumor treatment.

Main Methods:

• Development of an injectable thermosensitive hydrogel encapsulating hollow copper sulfide nanoparticles and β-lapachone (Lap).
• Utilizing photothermal effects for remote, non-invasive controlled release of copper ions (Cu2+) and Lap.
• Leveraging the tumor microenvironment (TME) characteristics, including glutathione (GSH) and Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (phosphate): quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1), for nanocatalytic reactions and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation.

Main Results:

• The CLH system demonstrated effective controlled release of therapeutic agents via photothermal stimulation.
• In vivo studies in a subcutaneous A549 lung tumor model showed significant tumor growth delay.
• No systemic toxicity was detected in the treated mice, indicating a favorable safety profile.

Conclusions:

• The CLH nanodrug platform offers an efficient approach for lung tumor therapy by combining photothermal and chemodynamic therapy (CDT).
• The system utilizes cascade catalysis, triggered by self-supplied H2O2, to achieve amplified oxidative stress and enhance therapeutic efficacy.
• This innovative platform holds promise for non-invasive, targeted treatment of lung cancer.