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Engineered Reverse Growth of Metastable Electron-Rich Pd Clusters for Enhanced Catalytic/Sonodynamic/Immune Therapy
Dong Wang1,2, Fenghua Zhang1, Rongrong Pan1
1Engineering Research Center of Advanced Rare Earth Materials, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
|July 22, 2026
Summary
Researchers developed a new method to stabilize electron-rich metals for cancer therapy. This approach enhances tumor microenvironment (TME)-responsive catalysis and sonodynamic therapy (SDT), leading to improved treatment outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Stabilizing metastable electron-rich metals at atomic dispersion is crucial for enhancing tumor microenvironment (TME)-responsive catalysis and sonodynamic therapy (SDT).
- Achieving atomic dispersion of metals while maintaining their metastable, electron-rich state for therapeutic applications remains a significant challenge.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel strategy for creating atomically dispersed, metastable electron-rich metal clusters.
- To investigate the enhanced catalytic and sonodynamic therapeutic efficacy of these novel nanostructures within the tumor microenvironment.
Main Methods:
- A "reverse growth" strategy was employed to kinetically trap palladium (Pd) atoms from bulk Pd nanoparticles (NPs) using sub-nano cobalt selenide-oxide-polyoxometalate (CoSexOy-POM) assemblies.
- The resulting atomically dispersed metastable electron-rich Pd clusters (Ternary-Pd) were characterized to determine their electronic structure and properties.
Main Results:
- The Ternary-Pd clusters exhibited a novel electronic structure with a more negative valence than 0-valent Pd, enhancing TME-responsive catalysis with a 15-fold increase in hydroxyl radical (•OH) generation.
- These clusters also showed enhanced hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-responsive oxygen (O2) evolution, mitigating tumor hypoxia and improving sonodynamic therapy (SDT) efficacy with a sixfold increase in singlet oxygen (1O2) yield.
- Selenium doping promoted systemic immune responses, inhibiting tumor metastasis growth.
Conclusions:
- Atomically dispersed metastable electron-rich Pd clusters synthesized via a "reverse growth" strategy significantly enhance TME-responsive catalysis and sonodynamic therapy.
- The novel electronic structure and ROS generation capabilities of these clusters offer a promising approach for advanced cancer treatment.
- The induced pyroptosis pathway and promoted immune responses highlight the potential for comprehensive tumor suppression.
