DUCNP@Mn–MOF/FOE as a Highly Selective and Bioavailable Drug Delivery System for Synergistic Combination Cancer Therapy

Heterostructures comprising lanthanide-doped upconversion nanoparticles (DUCNPs) and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are emerging as promising nanosystems for integrating medical diagnosis and treatment. Here, the DUCNP@Mn-MOF nanocarrier was developed, which showed good efficiency for loading and delivering a cytotoxic antitumor agent (3-F-10-OH-evodiamine, FOE). The combined advantages of the pH-responsive and peroxidase-like properties of Mn-MOF and the unique optical features of DUCNPs granted the DUCNP@Mn-MOF/FOE system synergistic chemodynamic and chemotherapeutic effects. The DUCNP@Mn-MOF nanocarrier effectively overcame the intrinsic limitations of FOE, such as its unfavorable physicochemical properties and limited in vivo potency. This complexed nanosystem was responsive to the tumor microenvironment and showed excellent tumor targeting capability. Thus, DUCNP@Mn-MOF/FOE exhibited highly selective and bioavailable drug delivery properties and is promising for cancer therapy. In a mouse breast cancer model, DUCNP@Mn-MOF/FOE inhibited tumor growth without significant toxicity. Therefore, the proposed nanosystem represents a promising theragnostic platform for multimodal combination diagnosis and therapy of tumors.