Engineered gold/black phosphorus nanoplatforms with remodeling tumor microenvironment for sonoactivated catalytic tumor theranostics

The imbalance between oxidants and antioxidants in cancer cells would evoke oxidative stress-induced cell death, which has been demonstrated to be highly effective in treating malignant tumors. Sonodynamic therapy (SDT) adopts ultrasound (US) as the excitation source to induce the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which emerges as a noninvasive therapeutic strategy with deep tissue penetration depth and high clinical safety. Herein, we construct novel sonoactivated oxidative stress amplification nanoplatforms by coating MnO2 on Au nanoparticle-anchored black phosphorus nanosheets and decorating soybean phospholipid subsequently (Au/BP@MS). The Au/BP@MS exhibit increased ROS generation efficiency under US irradiation in tumor tissues due to Au/BP nanosensitizer-induced improvement of electron-hole separation as well as MnO2-mediated O-2 generation and GSH depletion, thus leading to notable inhibition effect on tumor growth. Moreover, tumor microenvironment-responsive biodegradability of Au/BP@MS endows them with enhanced magnetic resonance imaging guidance and clinical potential for cancer theranostics.

Automated summary

"Translation: The article introduces a new nanoplatform for sonodynamic therapy that uses ultrasound to induce the production of reactive oxygen species. The nanoplatform, Au/BP@MS, shows an increase in the efficiency of reactive oxygen species generation in tumor tissues, leading to significant inhibition of tumor growth. Furthermore, the nanoplatform exhibits responsiveness and degradability in the tumor microenvironment, enhancing its potential for clinical theranostics."