Hollow Cuprous Oxide@Nitrogen‐Doped Carbon Nanocapsules for Cascade Chemodynamic Therapy

• Published in: Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany) Germany), 2022-04, Vol.18 (15), p.e2107422-n/a
• Main Authors: Meng, Xiangfu, Zhou, Ke, Qian, Yong, Liu, Hongji, Wang, Xingyu, Lin, Yefeng, Shi, Xinyi, Tian, Yu, Lu, Yijun, Chen, Qianwang, Qian, Junchao, Wang, Hui
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Carbon; cascade reactions; Cell Line, Tumor; chemodynamic therapy; Copper; Copper oxides; cuprous oxides; Dimethylformamide; dual‐shell structures; Glutathione; Glutathione - chemistry; hollow cavity; Hydrogen peroxide; Hydrogen Peroxide - chemistry; Hydroxyl radicals; Nanocapsules; Nanocrystals; Nanotechnology; Neoplasms - drug therapy; Nitrogen; Shells (structural forms); Size distribution; Therapy; Toxicity
• ISSN: 1613-6810; 1613-6829
• DOI: 10.1002/smll.202107422

Cuprous‐based nanozymes have demonstrated great potential for cascade chemodynamic therapy (CDT) due to their higher catalytic efficiency and simple reaction conditions. Here, hollow cuprous oxide@nitrogen‐doped carbon (HCONC) dual‐shell structures are designed as nanozymes for CDT oncotherapy. This HCONC with a size distribution of 130 nm is synthesized by a one‐step hydrothermal method using cupric nitrate and dimethyl formamide as precursors. The thin‐layer carbon (1.88 nm) of HCONC enhances the water‐stability and reduces the systemic toxicity of cuprous oxide nanocrystals. The dissolved Cu+ of HCONC in acid solution induces a Fenton‐like reaction and exhibits a fast reaction rate for catalyzing H2O2 into highly toxic hydroxyl radicals (·OH). Meanwhile, the formed Cu+ consumes oversaturated glutathione (GSH) to avoid its destruction of ROS at the intracellular level. In general, both cellular and animal experiments show that HCONC demonstrates excellent antitumor ability without causing significant systemic toxicity, which may present tremendous potential for clinical cancer therapy. This paper designs a type of hollow cuprous oxide@nitrogen‐doped carbon (HCONC) using a one‐step hydrothermal method for catalyzing the cascade reaction and expediting the therapeutic effect of chemodynamic therapy (CDT). The thin‐layer carbon attached to the surface can effectively impede the oxidation of Cu+. The released Cu+ in the tumor microenvironment can consume over‐expressed glutathione and decompose H2O2 into toxic ·OH for CDT oncotherapy.