Mild NIR-II Hyperthermia and Heterojunction Construction Co-Augmented Sonocatalytic Immunotherapy
Yuanyuan Xue1, Zhenlin Zhang1, Jinyan Hu1
1School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China.
Small (Weinheim an Der Bergstrasse, Germany)
|March 27, 2026
Summary
This study developed a novel nanoplatform that uses mild photothermal therapy to enhance cancer treatments like sonodynamic and chemodynamic therapy. This approach overcomes tumor microenvironment barriers, leading to tumor eradication and immune response activation.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Nanotechnology
- Cancer Therapy
Background:
- Reactive oxygen species (ROS)-based therapies (sonodynamic and chemodynamic therapy) are limited by the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME), which is characterized by hypoxia and high intracellular reductants.
- Overcoming TME barriers is crucial for enhancing the efficacy of ROS-based cancer treatments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a multifunctional nanoplatform that utilizes mild NIR-II photothermal effect to coordinate multiple therapeutic modalities and overcome TME-related limitations.
- To investigate the synergistic effects of photothermal, sonodynamic, nanocatalytic, and chemotherapeutic approaches for enhanced antitumor immune response.
Main Methods:
- Construction of a multifunctional nanoplatform (C-D-CHPB) by anchoring NIR-II-responsive carbon dots (CDs) onto Cu-doped hollow Prussian blue nanocubes (CHPB) and loading doxorubicin (DOX).
- Utilizing mild NIR-II photothermal effect (~43°C) to accelerate nanozyme catalysis, alleviate tumor hypoxia, and promote drug release.
- Leveraging heterojunction formation between CDs and CHPB to enhance photothermal conversion, sonodynamic, and multi-enzyme activities.
Main Results:
- Mild NIR-II photothermal effect reprogrammed the TME by enhancing ROS production and alleviating hypoxia, boosting sonodynamic therapy efficacy.
- The nanoplatform facilitated tumor-specific drug release and deeper intratumoral penetration.
- Synergistic sono-immunotherapy, driven by mild hyperthermia and heterojunction construction, achieved complete eradication of primary tumors and inhibition of distant tumors.
Conclusions:
- The developed mild NIR-II-programmed, heterojunction-augmented strategy effectively integrates multiple therapeutic modalities to overcome TME barriers.
- This approach elicits a robust antitumor immune response, demonstrating significant potential for cancer treatment.
Keywords:
carbon Dotschemodynamic therapyimmunotherapymild NIR‐II photothermal therapysonodynamic therapyMore Related Videos
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