Fe-MOF@Quercetin complex with light-controlled redox modulation for tumor wound repair

After the excision of tumor such as melanoma, the wound site often suffers from tumor recurrence and poor healing. A major clinical dilemma associated with photodynamic therapy is that the tumor excision site requires high reactive oxygen species (ROS) to inhibit tumor recurrence, while low ROS condition is required for promoting wound healing. To solve this problem, our study synthesized a MIL-101-(Fe)@Quercetin (MQ) complex material with oxygen vacancies and narrow bandgap characteristics, aiming to achieve light-controlled redox regulation of ROS generation. The structure of MQ enables it to efficiently separate holes (h⁺) and electron pairs (e^-) under laser irradiation, thereby generating ROS. At the same time, as a MOF- polyphenol complex, MQ exhibits excellent reducibility and biological activity, which can not only scavenge excess ROS after laser irradiation but also promote angiogenesis. In vivo experiments using mouse melanoma wound model demonstrate that MQ Microneedles (MQ@MNs), through light-controlled release of ROS in the tumor area, effectively inhibit tumor growth while scavenging ROS in the wound area to promote skin wound healing. In summary, this study provides new ideas and directions for the application of light-controlled redox regulation of ROS antioxidants in the treatment of melanoma wounds.