A Hypoxia-Activatable Prodrug for Targeted Combination Therapy of Hepatoma

Precision medicine is characterized by high accuracy and safety, showing robust superiority and significant potential in clinical applications. Organelle-targeting therapies are important tactics for precision medicine, allowing for efficient tumor treatment and reduced off-target toxicity. Herein, a mitochondria-targeting and hypoxia-activatable nanoprodrug (POPZ NPs) is prepared. The N-oxide groups of POPZ NPs can successfully target mitochondria and are reduced to tertiary amines by Cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYP450s), which are highly expressed in hypoxic tumors and located in the inner mitochondrial membranes. Biocompatible POPZ NPs can become cytotoxic and produce type-I photodynamic activities and enhance photothermal properties after reduction by CYP450s. The tumor-specific activatable prodrug reveals potent efficacy for tumor elimination without causing systemic toxicity. This work may provide a paradigm for achieving precision medicine as well as more convenient and feasible tumor combination therapy.