Nanocatalytic theranostics with intracellular mutual promotion for ferroptosis and chemo-photothermal therapy

The reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced through the Fenton reaction , induces lipid peroxide (LPO), causing cellular structural damage and ultimately triggering ferroptosis. However, the generation of ROS in the tumor microenvironment (TME) is limited by the catalytic efficiency of the Fenton reaction. Herein, a novel hollow mesoporous silica nanoparticle (HMSN) combined with multi-metal sulfide-doped mesoporous silica nanocatalyzers (NCs) was developed, namely M x S y -HMSN NCs (M represents Cu Mn and Fe, S denotes sulfur). The M x S y -HMSN can dramatically enhanced the ferroptosis by: (1) facilitating the conversion of H 2 O 2 to ·OH through Fenton or Fenton-like reactions through co-catalysis; (2) weakening ROS scavenging systems by depleting the over expressed glutathione (GSH) in TME; (3) providing exceptional photothermal therapy to augment ferroptosis. The M x S y -HMSN can also act as smart cargos for anticancer drug-doxorubicin (DOX). The release of DOX is responsive to GSH/pH/Near-infrared Light (NIR) irradiation at the tumor lesion, significantly improving therapeutic outcomes while minimizing side effects. Additionally, the M x S y -HMSN has demonstrated excellent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) potential. This smart M x S y -HMSN offer a synergetic approach combining ferroptosis with chemo-photothermal therapy and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) diagnose, which could be an informative guideline for the design of future NCs.