Triboelectric immunotherapy using electrostatic-breakdown induced direct-current

Electrical stimulation is a promising technique for drug-free treatment of complex malignant tumors because it can directly kill tumor cells and induce immunotherapy, avoiding the risk of drug-related side effects, toxicity, adverse reactions, drug dependence, drug resistance, etc. Herein, a drug-free tumor therapy strategy, defined as “Triboelectric Immunotherapy”, is invented to directly damage tumor cells and recruit immune cells by applying pulsed direct-current (DC) generated from a small size fabric DC triboelectric nanogenerator (DC-TENG). The pulsed DC is generated by coupling triboelectrification effect and electrostatic breakdown effect. The electrical stimulation can promote immunogenic cell death (ICD) of 4T1 cells to release damage-associated molecular patterns that attract dendritic cells to aggregate in tumors and present exposed abundant antigens to T cells, activating T cells-mediated adaptive immunity response to further inhibit tumor growth. Importantly, tissue structures such as blood vessels were preserved during electrical stimulation, allowing cytokines to accumulate to the tumor site through blood supply, significantly inhibiting the growth of 4T1 solid tumors and effectively prolonging survival. This work provides a highly efficient, cost-effective and safe solution for miniaturized wearable tumor treatment system.