UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

A photothermally triggered cascade bioreactor for cuproptosis and ferroptosis-driven cancer immunotherapy

Xu, Jianxiang; Wang, Yingying; Williams, Gareth R; Zheng, Yilu; Zhang, Yanyan; Wang, Tong; Du, Chengrong; ... Zhu, Li-Min; + view all (2025) A photothermally triggered cascade bioreactor for cuproptosis and ferroptosis-driven cancer immunotherapy. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science , 699 (Part 1) , Article 138100. 10.1016/j.jcis.2025.138100.

[thumbnail of Williams_UNmarked Revised Manuscript ACCEPTED.pdf] Text
Williams_UNmarked Revised Manuscript ACCEPTED.pdf
Access restricted to UCL open access staff until 21 June 2026.

Download (4MB)

Abstract

Excessive intracellular accumulation of metal ions results in metal-dependent programmed cell death, including ferroptosis and cuproptosis. However, cancer cells have defences against these processes, which allow them to resist therapy. Therefore, this work reports a laser-controlled cascade bioreactor based on gold and silica-coated Cu- and Mn-doped iron oxide nanocrystals (IONCs) loaded with the drug disulfiram (DSF). The resultant DSF/IONC@Au/MSN-TA nanoparticles (NPs) can deliver synergistic tumor metalloimmunotherapy through ferroptosis and cuproptosis. Under near-infrared laser (NIR) irradiation, DSF is released and chelates with Cu2+ to form Cu+ species in cancer cells, which leads to mitochondrial dysfunction via cuproptosis. The presence of gold nanodots on the DSF/IONC@Au/MSN-TA NPs allows them to consume intracellular glucose and sensitize cancer cells to cuproptosis. The DSF/IONC@Au/MSN-TA NPs induce ferroptosis via waterfall-like cyclic catalytic reactions, and iron ions released by the NPs consume glutathione (GSH), thereby enhancing sensitivity to cuproptosis and ferroptosis. The presence of manganese ions augments the efficacy of these processes and additionally allows imaging to be performed. A detailed physicochemical characterization of the NPs is reported, along with a series of assays to study the mechanisms of their biocatalytic activity. The NPs' biocompatibility is also established, and they are found to be appropriate for bioimaging and theranostic applications. Our work thus offers an innovative route for targeted tumor metalloimmunotherapy.

Type: Article
Title: A photothermally triggered cascade bioreactor for cuproptosis and ferroptosis-driven cancer immunotherapy
Location: United States
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2025.138100
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2025.138100
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Cancer metalloimmunotherapy, Catalytic cascade, Cuproptosis, Ferroptosis, Metal-dependent programmed cell death, Multimodal imaging
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > UCL School of Pharmacy
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > UCL School of Pharmacy > Pharmaceutics
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10210126
Downloads since deposit
1Download
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item