Carrier-Free Hybrid Nanoparticles for Enhanced Photodynamic Therapy in Oral Carcinoma via Reversal of Hypoxia and Oxidative Resistance

Abstract

In the present work, we pioneered a coordinated self-assembly approach aimed at fabricating carrier-free hybrid nanoparticles to address the inherent challenges of the anaerobic microenvironment and the oxidative resistance induced by reductive glutathione (GSH) in photodynamic therapy (PDT). In these nanoparticles, protoporphyrin IX (PP), HIF-1α inhibitor of N, Nʹ-(2,5-Dichlorosulfonyl) cystamine KC7F2 (KC), and the cofactor Fe3+ present hydrogen bond and coordination interaction. The nanoparticles exhibited efficient cellular uptake by CAL-27 cells, facilitating their accumulation in tumors by enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect. Under irradiation at 650 nm, the formation of cytotoxic singlet oxygen (1O2) would be enhanced by the synergy effect on the Fenton reaction of Fe3+ ion and the downregulation of the HIF-1α, leading to the improved PDT efficacy both in vitro and in vivo biological studies. Our work opens a new supramolecular approach to prepare hybrid nanoparticles for effective synergy therapy with PDT against cancer cells.