Tannic Acid/Fe(III)-Coated Curcumin Self-Assembled Nanoparticles for Combination Therapy to Treat Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Background/Objectives: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) exhibits pronounced biological heterogeneity, aggressive behavior, and a high risk of recurrence and metastasis. The conventional treatments for TNBC have notable limitations: surgical resection may leave residual tumor cells; chemotherapy (CT) frequently induces systemic toxicity and drug resistance; and radiotherapy damages surrounding organs and compromises the patients' immune function. Methods: Herein, we designed a carrier-free nanodrug delivery system composed of self-assembled Curcumin nanoparticles (NPs) coated with a tannic acid (TA)/Fe(III) network (denoted as CUR@TA-Fe(III) NPs). We systematically evaluated the in vitro cytotoxicity and photothermal-ferroptosis synergistic therapeutic efficacy of CUR@TA-Fe(III) NPs in 4T1 breast cancer cells, as well as the in vivo antitumor activity using 4T1 tumor-bearing mouse models. Results: CUR@TA-Fe(III) NPs had high drug loading efficiency (LE) of 27.99%, good dispersion stability, and photothermal properties. Curcumin could inhibit the growth of 4T1 cancer cells, while TA-Fe(III) efficiently converted light energy into heat upon exposure to near-infrared (NIR) light, leading to direct thermal ablation of 4T1 cells. Additionally, TA-Fe(III) could supply Fe(II) via TA, increase intracellular Fe(II) content, and generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) through the Fenton reaction, in turn inducing lipid peroxidation (LPO), a decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and glutathione depletion, eventually triggering ferroptosis. Conclusions: This treatment strategy, which integrates CT, PTT, and ferroptosis, is expected to overcome the limitations of traditional single-treatment methods and provide a more effective method for the treatment of TNBC.