Metal‐Free Carbon Co‐Catalysts for Up‐Conversion Photo‐Induced Catalytic Cancer Therapy

Near-infrared (NIR)-responsive metal-free carbon co-catalysts that convert glucose into H₂O₂ to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) are developed from phosphorus-doped carbon nitride (P-C₃N₄) and graphene quantum dots (GQD) composites, for enhanced photocatalytic cancer therapy by light exposure in the targeted tumor microenvironment. Upon irradiation, the NIR light is converted by GQD with up-conversion function into visible light to excite P-C₃N₄ for photocatalytic conversion of glucose into H₂O₂, which subsequently decomposes into ROS. ROS thus generated exhibits an excellent anticancer efficacy for efficient cancer therapy with minimal side effects, as evidenced by both in vitro and in vivo studies. This study demonstrates, for the first time, a cancer therapeutic of GQD/P-C₃N₄ composite that utilizes a two-step cascade effect using initially NIR-triggered GQD nanoparticles to activate P-C₃N₄ to photocatalytically generate ROS for effective and targeted cancer therapy.