Ultrathin Nanosheets for Catalytic Cancer Therapy

Nanotechnology has emerged as a promising approach for precision treatment of cancers. Two-dimensional nanoparticle-based therapeutic agents have been developed for safe and efficient treatment of cancers.¹ In this talk, I will present our recent work on development of nanosheets for catalytic cancer therapy. We have developed a sustainable method to synthesize ultrathin layered double hydroxide nanosheets via a polymer-assisted bottom-up approach,² and demonstrated high catalytic activity to disproportionate hydrogen peroxide in tumors and in-situ generated hydroxyl radicals efficiently to kill tumor cells.³ Without any drug loading, the nanosheet exhibited highly selective and specific anti-tumor effect. The hydroxyl radical generation-induced anti-tumor effect was further enhanced by cascade catalytic reactions triggered by photocatalysis.⁴ We also showed that the nanosheet generated oxygen bubbles and promoted the long-distance and directional movement toward the tumour microenvironment, thus achieving targeted delivery of therapeutic nanomedicine without traditional surface ligand modification.⁵<br/>References<br/>1. Cao, Z.; Li, B.; Sun, L.; Li, L.; Xu, Z.P.; Gu, Z. Small Methods 2019, 1900343.<br/>2. Zhang, H.; Zhang, L.; Cao, Z.; Cheong, S.; Boyer, C.; Wang, Z.; Yun, S.L.Y.; Amal, R.; Gu, Z. Small 2022, e2200299.<br/>3. Cao, Z.; Zhang, L.; Liang, K.; Cheong, S.; Boyer, C.; Gooding, J.J.; Chen, Y.; Gu, Z. Adv. Sci. 2018, 1801155.<br/>4. Guo, Z.; Xie, W… Boyer, C., Zhao, L.; Gu, Z. Chem. Eng. J. 2022, 137310.<br/>5. Zhang, H; Cao, Z; Zhang, Q; Xu, J; Yun, SLJ; Liang, K; Gu, Z. Small 2020, 16, e2002732