Co-delivery of vitamin and amino acid within MOFs for oxidative stress-based tumor gas therapy

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As an alternative to chemotherapy, emerging gas therapy is considered a “green” treatment due to its minimal side effects. However, even typical gas molecules like nitric oxide (NO) face challenges such as a very short half-life (1.5–6 min), poor targeting, and limited therapeutic effects. This study employs a one-pot method to simultaneously encapsulate the NO donor L-arginine (L-Arg) and the H2O2 precursor Vitamin K3 (VK3) into the pores of zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8), achieving their co-delivery to tumor sites to address these issues. Furthermore, ZIF-8 is functionalized with hyaluronic acid (HA) to impart active targeting properties to tumor tissues. In the acidic tumor microenvironment, pH-sensitive ZIF-8 degrades, releasing VK3 and L-Arg. Under the action of the NAD(P)H quinone oxidoreductase-1 (NQO1) enzyme, VK3 generates H2O2, increasing oxidative stress levels in the tumor microenvironment, and reacts with L-Arg to produce NO, thereby achieving tumor oxidative stress-based gas therapy. Both in vitro and in vivo experiments showed good tumor treatment effects, with a tumor inhibition rate of up to 90.5 % and minimal impact on normal tissues and organs. This approach demonstrates efficient loading, controlled release, and significant anti-tumor performance, offering new insights into gas and reactive oxygen species (ROS) synergistic therapy.