Renal Clearable Ultrasmall Single-Crystal Fe Nanoparticles for Highly Selective and Effective Ferroptosis Therapy and Immunotherapy

Iron-based nanoparticles have attracted much attention because of their ability to induce ferroptosis via a catalyzing Fenton reaction and to further potentiate immunotherapy. However, current iron-based nanoparticles need to be used in cooperation with other treatments or be applied in a high dose for effective therapy because of their low reactive oxygen species production efficacy. Here, we synthesized ultrasmall single-crystal Fe nanoparticles (bcc-USINPs) that stayed stable in a normal physiological environment but were highly active in a tumor microenvironment because of the selective acidic etching of an Fe3O4 shell and the exposure of the Fe(0) core. The bcc-USINPs could efficiently induce tumor cell ferroptosis and immunogenetic cell death at a very low concentration. Intravenous injection of iRGD-bcc-USINPs at three doses of 1 mg/kg could effectively suppress the tumor growth, promote the maturation of dendritic cells, and trigger the adaptive T cell response. Combined with programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) immune checkpoint blockade immunotherapy, the iRGD-bcc-USINP-mediated ferroptosis therapy greatly potentiated the immune response and developed strong immune memory. In addition, these USINPs were quickly renal excreted with no side effects in normal tissues. These iRGD-bcc-USINPs provide a simple, safe, effective, and selectively tumor-responsive Fe(0) delivery system for ferroptosis-based immunotherapy.