Engineering endoplasmic reticulum targeted metal–polyphenol curcumin nanomicelles for melanoma therapy

Melanoma has a high incidence and mortality, and current therapies are limited. Here, we developed TCPC, an ER-targeted nanomedicine guided by omics analysis. It consists of curcumin-loaded PEG–PCL nanomicelles coated with a Tannic acid–Cu metal–polyphenol network. Guided by clinical transcriptome mining, we identified ER-stress vulnerabilities to inform material design. RNA-seq and imaging confirmed that TCPC preferentially accumulates in melanoma cells and localizes to the ER. TCPC markedly elevates CHOP expression, which triggers ER Ca²⁺ release, mitochondrial dysfunction, ROS accumulation, and apoptosis. Functionally, TCPC significantly suppresses cell viability, migration, and invasion in vitro. In melanoma xenografts, systemic TCPC treatment slows tumor growth, enhances intratumoral CHOP and Cleaved caspase-3, and induces apoptosis without systemic toxicity. Moreover, pharmacogenomic analyses revealed that CHOP upregulation correlates with increased sensitivity to several agents, and molecular docking highlighted Irinotecan and JQ1 as potential synergistic partners with TCPC. Collectively, this work demonstrates that nanomedicine guided by omics can couple organelle-specific delivery with ER-stress amplification to achieve potent antitumor efficacy. Overall, this work establishes an omics-guided materials strategy that integrates organelle-targeted delivery with ER-stress amplification for effective melanoma therapy. Graphical abstract