Abstract
Gas therapy (GT) has attracted increasing attention in recent years as a new cancer treatment method with favorable therapeutic efficacy and reduced side effects. Several gas molecules, such as nitric oxide (NO), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen (H2), hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and sulfur dioxide (SO2), have been employed to treat cancers by directly killing tumor cells, enhancing drug accumulation in tumors or sensitizing tumor cells to chemotherapy, photodynamic therapy or radiotherapy. Despite the great progress of gas therapy, most gas molecules are prone to nonspecific distribution when administered systemically, resulting in strong toxicity to normal tissues. Therefore, how to deliver and release gas molecules to targeted tissues on demand is the main issue to be considered before clinical applications of gas therapy. As a specific and noninvasive stimulus with deep penetration, near-infrared (NIR) light has been widely used to trigger the cleavage and release of gas from nano-prodrugs via photothermal or photodynamic effects, achieving the on-demand release of gas molecules with high controllability. In this review, we will summarize the recent progress in cancer gas therapy triggered by NIR light. Furthermore, the prospects and challenges in this field are presented, with the hope for ongoing development.
Highlights
Gas therapy has made great progress in the treatment of diseases, most therapeutic gases are prone to nonspecific distribution after systemic administration, resulting in strong irritation to the respiratory system and severe side effects on normal tissues [10, 16]
Liu et al covalently linked a Ru-nitric oxide (NO) donor to the Folic Acid (FA) targeting group on the Fe3O4@PDA magnetic carrier to construct a new multifunctional magnetic nanoplatform that can produce an obvious photothermal effect under 808 nm laser irradiation, which stimulates the release of NO
Photodynamic therapy‐triggered NO prodrug In antineoplastic therapy, photodynamic therapy (PDT) can be used to trigger the controlled release of NO, which could inhibit the expression of P-gp protein and improve the sensitivity of cancer cells to chemotherapeutic drugs [133, 134]
Summary
Cancer is one of the most serious diseases that threaten human health worldwide [1–5]. Scheme 1 Schematic illustration of NIR light triggered nano-prodrug for cancer gas therapy stimulus-responsive GRNs could target tumor tissues and release gas molecules in a controlled manner, significantly enhancing the antitumor effect.
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