Safe‐by‐Design Exfoliation of Niobium Diselenide Atomic Crystals as a Theory‐Oriented 2D Nanoagent from Anti‐Inflammation to Antitumor

Abstract

AbstractThe accompanying relationship between tumor and inflammation raises the concept of concurrent antitumor and anti‐inflammation treatment in the clinic. Despite the wide application of 2D atomic crystals for cancer theranostics, their anti‐inflammation function has been rarely explored. Herein, it is reported that niobium diselenide nanosheets (NbSe2 NSs), a “star” 2D superconducting atomic crystal, can serve as a theory‐oriented 2D nanoagent from anti‐inflammation to antitumor. A safe‐by‐design exfoliation strategy, integration of cryo‐pretreatment and DNA‐assisted exfoliation, is proposed for high‐efficiency exfoliation of atomically thin NbSe2 NSs. Especially, computational simulation reveals that NbSe2 NSs effectively eliminate reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) via hydrogen atom transfer and redox reaction. Upon the injection of NbSe2 NSs into BALB/c mice, not only U87 subcutaneous tumors are rapidly ablated after photoacoustic imaging‐guided precise localization of tumor contour, but also lipopolysaccharide‐induced rear thigh inflammation or photothermal therapy‐mediated inflammation is efficiently inhibited through RONS scavenging. In addition, NbSe2 NSs are highly biocompatible both in vitro and in vivo due to high‐security element constituent and DNA modification. The work extends the biomedical application of 2D atomic crystals for anti‐inflammatory treatment.