Sophisticated plasmon-enhanced photo-nanozyme for anti-angiogenic and tumor-microenvironment-responsive combinatorial photodynamic and photothermal cancer therapy

Abstract

In the exploitation of nanozymes possessing intrinsic enzyme-like activities for cancer therapy, minor focus has been devoted to plasmonic nanostructures with localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR)-driven properties. Here, we report the application of unique peroxidase-mimicking plasmonic photo-nanozymes coupling tumor-microenvironment-responsive reactive oxygen species generation with photothermal effect for effective combinatorial therapy. The well-defined anisotropic photo-nanozyme is synthesized by selectively depositing Pd nanoparticles on the tips of gold nanobypyramids. Intrinsic peroxidase-like properties with 1.5-fold-activity enhancement under photoexcitation are ascribed to a Pd-induced hot electrons/holes separation with efficient H2O2 decomposition. The LSPR-induced photocatalytic/photothermal combinatorial effects are remarkably enhanced upon H2O2 addition, critically suppressing the cell survival rate under near-infrared light. An effective decomposition of cell-signaling H2O2 additionally reveals prominent expression hindrance of vascular endothelial growth factor and hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha. Our seminal findings uncover an interrelation between LSPR-induced phenomena and biomimetic fingerprints, valuable to overcome the shortcomings of conventional photodynamic therapy. (C) 2021 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.