Gaseous microenvironmental remodeling of tumors for enhanced photo-gas therapy and real-time tracking

Abstract

The gaseous microenvironment (GME) of tumors is rapidly becoming a new concern for nanotechnology-mediated oncotherapy. Here, we constructed a tumor/near-infrared (NIR) light-responsive nanoplatform to generate O₂ and NO for remodeling the GME of tumors and phototherapy. The biocompatible and pyrolytic polydopamine was used to load indocyanine green, NONOate, and MnO₂ NPs as a nanoenzyme (PINM). Then, HA was modified on the PINM to form the final nanoplatform (PINMH). PINMH can target tumors favorably due to the modification of HA. Under the NIR light irradiation, PINM converts the light and O₂ to hyperpyrexia (58.5 °C) and cytotoxic ¹O₂. MnO₂ NPs catalyze the H₂O₂ overexpressed in tumors to O₂, which increases the amount of ¹O₂. Moreover, NONOate decomposes to NO (100 μM) under hyperpyrexia, thus leading to the gas therapy. The results verified that the responsive nanoplatform with precise gaseous regulation and phototherapy exhibited a superior anti-tumor effect (V/V₀ = 1.2) and biosafety. In addition, PINMH can be tracked in real-time via magnetic resonance imaging. In this study, an intelligent nano-platform integrated with diagnosis and treatment was developed, which used the phototherapy technology to reshape GME and achieve good anti-tumor effects, aiming to provide an innovative and reasonable strategy for the development of tumor treatment.