Artificial photocatalysis offers a clean approach for producing H2O2. However, the poor selectivity and activity of H2O2 production hamper traditional industrial applications and emerging photodynamic therapy (PDT)/chemodynamic therapy (CDT). Here, we report a well-defined C5N2 photocatalyst with a conjugated C=N linkage for highly selective and efficient non-sacrificial H2O2 production both in normoxic and hypoxic systems. The strengthened delocalization of −electrons by linkers in C5N2 significantly downshifted the band position, which eliminated the side photoreduction reaction of H2 evolution in thermodynamics and promoted water oxidation ability in kinetics. As a result, C5N2 had a competitive overall H2O2 production with solar-tochemical conversion efficiency of 0.55% and more interestingly, exhibited the highest activity so far in hypoxic condition (698 M/h). C5N2 was further applied to hypoxic PDT/CDT, exhibiting outstanding performance in conspicuous cancer cell death and synchronous bioimaging. It shed light on unlocking linker functions in electronic structure engineering of carbon nitrides for highly efficient overall photosynthesis of H2O2 and expanded the scope of their prospective application in health care.

Carbon quantum dots (CDs) as emerging carbon nano-materials have attracted tremendous attention in biomedical fields due to unique properties.

The inherent radioresistance and inaccuracy of localization of tumors weaken the clinical implementation effectiveness of radiotherapy. To overcome these limitations, hyaluronic acid-functionalized bismuth oxide nanoparticles (HA-Bi 2 O 3 NPs) were synthesized by one-pot hydrothermal method for target-specific computed tomography (CT) imaging and radiosensitization of tumor. After functionalization with hyaluronic acid, the Bi 2 O 3 NPs possessed favorable solubility in water and excellent biocompatibility and were uptaken specifically by cancer cells overexpressing CD44 receptors. The as-prepared HA-Bi 2 O 3 NPs exhibited high X-ray attenuation efficiency and ideal radiosensitivity via synergizing X-rays to induce cell apoptosis and arrest the cell cycle in a dose-dependent manner in vitro. Remarkably, these properties offered excellent performance in active-targeting CT imaging and enhancement of radiosensitivity for inhibition of tumor growth. These findings demonstrated that HA-Bi 2 O 3 NPs as theranostic agents exhibit great promise for CT imaging-guided radiotherapy in diagnosis and treatment of tumors.

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