The therapeutic efficiency of reactive oxygen species (ROS)‐based nanotherapeutics is restrained by the rigorous production conditions of relatively sufficient and kinetically matching supply of intracellular substrates. The cumulative disruption of redox homeostasis and consequent pathology (e.g., Parkinson's disease) with low levels of substrates in living organisms may provide a promising model for ROS‐based therapy. Herein, a catechol chemistry‐mediated ternary nanostructure is prepared for long‐lasting generation of oxidative •OH in weakly acidic, low H2O2 homeostasis conditions of tumor. This platform employs mesoporous polydopamine (MPDA) as the porous redox mediator, while PDA‐induced sequential precipitation and biomineralization lead to hydroxy iron oxide (FeOOH) as the “iron reservoir,” and calcium phosphate (CaP) as the pH‐sensitive sheddable shell. In weakly acidic conditions, the CaP layer can be degraded to expose the catalytic surface of Fe‐dopamine interplay, where FeOOH dissolution, Fe(III) chelation, Fe(III) reduction, Fe(II) release take place sequentially and continuously for Fe(II) recycling and Fenton catalysis. Both in vitro and in vivo studies verify the significant inhibition of cancer cells and tumor regression, which can also be strengthened by the local photothermal heating. This work establishes the first paradigm of pathologically inspired nanohybrids of ROS generators with long‐lasting efficacy for cancer therapy.
Photothermal conversion agents (PTCAs) based on π‐conjugated polymers are promising for cancer therapy, but the alteration of bandgap energies toward boosted photothermal properties remains challenging. Herein, polymer PTCAs with heterojunctions of a binary optical component are developed by interface hybridization on porous particles. Specifically, polypyrrole (PPy) nanodomains are successfully hosted on the wet‐adhesive surface of mesoporous polydopamine nanoparticles through the loading and polymerization of pyrrole in the confined pore space (≈5.0 nm). The near‐infrared absorbing polymers in the heterojunctions possess similar five‐membered heterocyclic rings and can interact mutually to generate photoinduced electron transfer (PET). Such a large‐area optoelectronic interaction progressively reduces the bandgap energy (down to 0.56 eV) by increasing the doped amount of PPy, which consequently enhances the extinction coefficient and photothermal conversion efficiency by 4.6‐ and 2.2‐fold, respectively. Notably, the hybrid PTCA exhibits good biocompatibility, photocytotoxicity, and great potential for cancer therapy.
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