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Updated: Aug 5, 2026

Formation of Covalent DNA Adducts by Enzymatically Activated Carcinogens and Drugs In Vitro and Their Determination by 32P-postlabeling
Published on: March 20, 2018
Spontaneous Intracellular Formation of Covalent Organic Frameworks via Enzyme-Initiated Cascade Reactions to Boost
Qun Guan1,2, Le-Le Zhou1,3, Wei Zhou4
1State Key Laboratory of Mechanism and Quality of Chinese Medicine, Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao999078, China.
None:
Tumor radioresistance is a leading cause of radiotherapy failure. This study presents a facile strategy for enhancing tumor radiosensitivity using a covalent organic framework (COF) constructed within cells. Upon cellular internalization, acetamide and iodoacetal precursors undergo hydrolysis to form amine and iodoaldehyde monomers that spontaneously polymerize and crystallize within the lysosomes. This intracellularly generated iodine-rich COF (in situ UM-113) possesses an ordered structure that effectively facilitates radiation energy deposition, producing localized reactive oxygen species and amplifying DNA damage. In vitro and in vivo, in situ UM-113 suppresses tumor growth by triggering both ferroptosis and mitotic catastrophe. This strategy bypasses the complex synthesis and purification steps required for conventional nanomedicine. Thus, in situ COF construction is a promising strategy for enhancing cancer radiotherapy, offering a modular platform for the intracellular synthesis of functional bionanomaterials.
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