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Updated: Jun 2, 2025
Preparation and Photoacoustic Analysis of Cellular Vehicles Containing Gold Nanorods
Published on: May 2, 2016
Gold nanorod-based engineered nanogels for cascade-amplifying photothermo-enzymatic synergistic therapy
Ling Ding1, Xiaoshan Wang1, Qing Wu2
1School of Chemical Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China.
Abstract:
Reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated anticancer modalities, which disturb the redox balance of cancer cells through multi-pathway simulations, hold great promise for effective cancer management. Among these, cooperative physical and biochemical activation strategies have attracted increasing attention because of their spatiotemporal controllability, low toxicity, and high therapeutic efficacy. Herein, we demonstrate a nanogel complex as a multilevel ROS-producing system by integrating chloroperoxidase (CPO) into gold nanorod (AuNR)-based nanogels (ANGs) for cascade-amplifying photothermal-enzymatic synergistic tumor therapy. Benefiting from photothermal-induced hyperthermia upon near-infrared (NIR) laser exposure, the exogenous ROS (including H2O2) were boosted by the AuNR nanogel owing to the intercellular stress response. This ultimately promoted the efficient enzyme-catalyzed reaction of loaded CPO combined with the rich endogenous H2O2 in tumor cells to significantly elevate intracellular ROS levels above the threshold for improved therapeutic outcomes. Both in vitro and in vivo studies have verified the cascade-amplifying ROS-mediated antitumor effects, providing feasible multimodal synergistic tactics for tumor treatment.
Insights
This study presents a novel nanogel system that combines photothermal therapy and enzymatic activity to amplify reactive oxygen species (ROS) for enhanced cancer treatment. The system effectively boosts ROS levels, leading to significant antitumor effects in both lab and animal studies.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Nanotechnology
- Cancer Therapy
Background:
- Reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated therapies offer promising cancer treatment strategies by disrupting cancer cell redox balance.
- Cooperative physical and biochemical activation approaches are gaining traction for their controllable, low-toxicity, and effective cancer management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a nanogel complex for multilevel ROS production via integrated chloroperoxidase (CPO) and gold nanorod (AuNR) components.
- To investigate the cascade-amplifying photothermal-enzymatic synergistic effects for tumor therapy.
Main Methods:
- Integration of CPO into AuNR-based nanogels (ANGs) to create a ROS-producing system.
- Utilizing near-infrared (NIR) laser exposure for photothermal-induced hyperthermia and intercellular stress response.
- Leveraging endogenous H2O2 in tumor cells with CPO activity for amplified intracellular ROS generation.
Main Results:
- The nanogel complex demonstrated boosted exogenous ROS production upon NIR laser irradiation.
- Synergistic photothermal-enzymatic activation significantly elevated intracellular ROS levels in cancer cells.
- Both in vitro and in vivo studies confirmed the cascade-amplifying ROS-mediated antitumor effects.
Conclusions:
- The developed nanogel system effectively achieves cascade-amplifying ROS generation for synergistic tumor therapy.
- This approach provides a feasible multimodal strategy for enhanced cancer treatment.
- The combination of photothermal and enzymatic activities offers a promising direction for advanced cancer therapeutics.
