We have synthesized a hyaluronic acid (HA) modified CaO₂/CuO₂/Fe₃O₄ nanocomposite by a simple and flexible strategy. The H₂O₂ self-supplying and ⋅OH self-catalyzed nanocomposite exhibited favorable pH-controlled ⋅OH generation and excellent tumor growth inhibition ability, providing a potential nanotheranostics platform with active targeting and favorable therapeutic efficacy in tumor therapy.

Abstract

Due to the properties of hypoxia, lower pH, and higher hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) in the tumor microenvironment (TME), a wide variety of metal peroxide nanomaterials have got great attention for efficient TME-responsive and -regulated tumor therapy. However, a single species of metal peroxide is inadequate to realize high effective anticancer therapy. Herein, we have synthesized a hyaluronic acid (HA) modified CaO₂/CuO₂/Fe₃O₄ nanocomposite by a simple and flexible strategy. CaO₂ can generate H₂O₂ by reacting with water in slightly acidic TME, and the self-supplying H₂O₂ can be catalyzed to generate ⋅OH by both Cu²⁺ and Fe²⁺ via Fenton-type reaction. Strongly oxidizing ⋅OH can induce tumor cells death for enhanced chemodynamic therapy (CDT). The H₂O₂ self-supplying and ⋅OH self-catalyzed nanocomposite exhibited favorable pH-controlled ⋅OH generation and excellent cancer cells growth inhibition ability, providing a potential nanotheranostics platform with active targeting and favorable therapeutic efficacy in tumor therapy.