Atomic-Level High-Entropy Nanozymes Enable Remarkable Endogenous Targeted Catalysis and Enhancing Tumor Photothermal...

Area of Science:

• Nanotechnology
• Materials Science
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Nanozymes offer significant potential for human health applications.
• Developing efficient nanozymes, particularly atomic-level high-entropy nanozymes, presents a challenge due to thermodynamic instability.
• Atomic-level high-entropy nanozymes have not been previously reported.

Purpose of the Study:

• To construct an atomic-level high-entropy nanozyme system for targeted catalysis and enhanced tumor photothermal therapy.
• To overcome the thermodynamic instability challenges in creating atomic-level high-entropy nanozymes.
• To explore the biomedical applications of this novel nanozyme system.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a sub-nanometer high-entropy nanozyme (snHEAzyme) composed of RuRhPtIrMo (8-10 atoms thick) using reduction-diffusion and grafting methods.
• Grafting the snHEAzyme with a targeting agent (DSPE-PEG2000-cRGD) and an imaging agent (Cy7) to create the snHEAzyme@DSPE-PEG2000-cRGD@Cy7 system.
• Evaluation of the system's peroxidase-like activity, near-infrared (NIR) absorbance, photothermal conversion, and reactive oxygen species generation.

Main Results:

• Successful synthesis of the atomic-level high-entropy nanozyme system (snHEAzyme@DSPE-PEG2000-cRGD@Cy7).
• The nanozyme system exhibits excellent peroxidase-like activity and high NIR absorbance.
• Demonstrated efficient photothermal conversion and reactive oxygen species generation under NIR irradiation.
• In vitro and in vivo studies confirmed effective tumor cell membrane penetration and tumor treatment capabilities.

Conclusions:

• The study presents a novel atomic-level high-entropy nanozyme system with significant potential in biomedical applications.
• The developed nanozyme system effectively targets tumors and enhances photothermal therapy.
• This work provides a new perspective on the fabrication of sub-nanometer high-entropy nanozymes and their therapeutic applications.