Single nanosheet can sustainably generate oxygen and inhibit respiration simultaneously in cancer cells

• Published in: Materials horizons 2021-02, Vol.8 (2), p.597-65
• Main Authors: Huang, Wei-Qiang, Wang, Fei, Shen, Ai-Zong, Zhang, Lei, Nie, Xuan, Zhang, Ze, Chen, Guang, Xia, Lei, Wang, Long-Hai, Ding, Sheng-Gang, Meng, Qing-Yong, Zhang, Wen-Jian, Hong, Chun-Yan, You, Ye-Zi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cancer; Cell Line, Tumor; Hypoxia; Nanomaterials; Nanosheets; Neoplasms - therapy; Oxygen; Oxygen consumption; Phosphorylation; Photochemotherapy; Photosensitizing Agents - therapeutic use; Respiration; Thermal energy; Tumors
• ISSN: 2051-6347; 2051-6355
• DOI: 10.1039/d0mh01446j

In a tumor, the abnormal cancer cell proliferation results in an insufficient O 2 supply, and meanwhile cancer cells consume O 2 very fast. The imbalance between a low oxygen supply and overwhelming oxygen consumption results in a low oxygen concentration in solid tumors. Therefore, in order to relieve hypoxia in tumors, it is necessary to not only sustainably generate O 2 , but also inhibit mitochondrial respiration simultaneously. Here, we found that a single Ti 2 C(OH) 2 nanomaterial not only can sustainably generate O 2 but also simultaneously highly inhibits mitochondrial respiration via binding phosphorylation proteins onto the surface in cancer cells. Ce6 was linked onto Ti 2 C(OH) 2 , forming Ti 2 C(OH) 2 -Ce6. Ti 2 C(OH) 2 -Ce6 could highly relieve hypoxia in tumors via the combination of sustainable O 2 generation and respiration inhibition, produce enough 1 O 2 to kill cancer cells via PDT, and also effectively convert the absorbed light energy into thermal energy to kill cancer cell via PTT, thereby highly enhancing the cancer therapy. Ti 2 C(OH) 2 can relieve the hypoxia in tumors via generating O 2 from endogenous H 2 O 2 and inhibiting mitochondrial respiratory in cancer cell.