Alloying is an efficient chemistry to tailor the properties of metal clusters. As a class of promising radiosensitizers, most previously reported metal clusters exhibit unitary function and cannot overcome radioresistance of hypoxic tumors. Here, atomically precise alloy clusters Pt2M4 (M = Au, Ag, Cu) are synthesized with bright luminescence and adequate biocompatibility, and their composition‐dependent enzyme mimicking activity and radiosensitizing effect is explored. Specifically, only the Pt2Au4 cluster displays catalase‐like activity, while the others do not have clusterzyme properties, and its radiosensitizing effect is the highest among all the alloy clusters tested. By taking advantage of the sustainable production of O2 via the decomposition of endogenous H2O2, the Pt2Au4 cluster modulates tumor hypoxia as well as increases the efficacy of radiotherapy. This work thus advances the cluster alloying strategy to produce multifunctional therapeutic agents for improving hypoxic tumor therapy.
Atomically precise gold clusters play an important role
in the
development of high-Z-element-based radiosensitizers,
due to their intriguing structural diversity and advantages in correlating
structures and properties. However, the synthesis of gold clusters
with both water-solubility and single-crystal structure remains a
challenge. In this study, atomically precise Au25(S-TPP)18 clusters (TPP-SNa = sodium 3-(triphenylphosphonio)propane-1-thiolate
bromide) showing both mitochondria-targeting ability and water-solubility
were obtained via ligand design for enhanced radioimmunotherapy. Compared
with Au25(SG)18 clusters (SG = glutathione),
Au25(S-TPP)18 exhibited higher radiosensitization
efficiency due to its mitochondria-targeting ability, higher ROS production
capacity, and obvious inhibition upon thioredoxin reductase (TrxR).
In addition, the enhanced radiotherapy-triggered abscopal effect in
combination with checkpoint blockade displayed effective growth inhibition
of distant tumors. This work reveals the ligand-regulated organelle
targeting ability of metal clusters by which feasible strategies to
promote their application in precise theranostics could be realized.
Gold nanoclusters exhibited significant potential in antimicrobial applications due to their good stability and desirable biocompatibility in the mammalian cell model. However, most of the previously reported gold nanocluster antimicrobial...
Levonorgestrel protected Pt2Cu4 clusters was assembled with polymer to prepare nanobeads (NBs) with intense red fluorescence. An immunofluorescence sensor based on Pt2Cu4NBs was established for rapid and sensitive detection of...
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