Plataforma nanoestructurada a base de nitruro de titanio potenciada por plasmones para terapia oncológica sinérgica...

The development of multifunctional nanoplatforms offers promising strategies for advancing cancer treatment, given the generally limited efficacy of single function nanomaterial-based therapeutics. Herein, a plasmon-enhanced "sandwich-like" nanoplatform, titanium nitride@mesoporous silica-iron oxide/polyethylenimine (TiN@mSiO₂-Fe₃O₄/PEI), is designed for synergistic photothermal and chemodynamic therapy (PTT/CDT). The core comprises multiple TiN nanoparticles exhibiting strong plasmon coupling, while the mSiO₂ shell is decorated with ultrasmall, surface-exposed Fe₃O₄ nanozymes (∼3.2 nm) to facilitate catalytic reactions with tumor-associated substrates. Under near-infrared irradiation, the nanoplatform demonstrates a favorable photothermal conversion efficiency (∼39.3 %), making it well-suited for mild-temperature PTT. Meanwhile, the localized heat generated by TiN effectively enhances the catalytic activity of adjacent Fe₃O₄ nanozymes, thereby promoting hydroxyl radical production and intracellular glutathione depletion. The synergistic photothermal-catalytic interactions within TiN@mSiO₂-Fe₃O₄/PEI result in augmented therapeutic effect by combining efficient PTT with intensified CDT by in situ thermally accelerated Fenton reactions. This is evidenced by >90 % cancer cell killing efficiency in vitro and ∼96 % tumor inhibition rate in MOC1 xenograft models. Moreover, the mSiO₂ shell, with its large mesopores, exhibits pH-responsive degradability that enables controlled Fe₃O₄ release in the acidic tumor microenvironment, which in turn improves therapeutic specificity and reduces systemic toxicity. Collectively, these results demonstrate the potential of TiN@mSiO₂-Fe₃O₄/PEI as a highly effective and versatile nanoplatform for advanced cancer nanotherapy.