A Multiple-Response Cascade Nanoreactor for Starvation and Deep Catalysis Chemodynamic Assisted Near-Infrared-II Mild Photothermal Therapy

Photothermal therapy (PTT) is hampered by the limited capacity of light penetration, non-specific thermal diffusion damage to surrounding healthy tissues, and thermoresistance originating in heat shock proteins (HSPs). Here, a triple-respondent (triphosphate, glutathione, and pH) cascade nanoreactor was designed through the glucose consumption-induced thermal sensitization strategy. The near-infrared-II (NIR-II) photothermal reagent Bi–Au was encapsulated in a glucose oxidase-based protein–polyphenol structure with the help of the zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8). The composite nanosystem possesses triple-enzyme activity (glucose oxidase, peroxidase-like, and catalase-like). On one hand, the product of hydrogen peroxide from glycolysis can be converted into reactive oxygen species and oxygen to enhance the chemodynamic therapy and alleviate the state of hypoxia in tumor cells. On the other hand, glucose consumption could down-regulate the expression level of HSPs. The heat resistance ability of cells decreased under starvation and oxidative damage states, which is beneficial to reduce the temperature required for PTT and improve the efficiency of mild PTT. The cascade nanocapsule exhibited high tumor inhibition and proposed a typical synergistic strategy for starvation, chemodynamic, and NIR-II mild photothermal therapy.