An Adenosine Triphosphate-Responsive Autocatalytic Fenton Nanoparticle for Tumor Ablation with Self-Supplied H2O2 and Acceleration of Fe(III)/Fe(II) Conversion

Chemodynamic therapy (CDT) can efficiently destroy tumor cells via Fenton reaction in the presence of H2O2 and a robust catalyst. However, it has faced severe challenges including the limited amounts of H2O2 and inefficiency of catalysts. Here, an adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-responsive autocatalytic Fenton nanosystem (GOx@ZIF@MPN), incorporated with glucose oxidase (GOx) in zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF) and then coated with metal polyphenol network (MPN), was designed and synthesized for tumor ablation with self-supplied H2O2 and TA-mediated acceleration of Fe(III)/Fe(II) conversion. In the ATP-overexpressed tumor cells, the outer shell MPN of GOx@ZIF@MPN was degraded into Fe(III) and tannic acid (TA) and the internal GOx was exposed. Then, GOx reacted with the endogenous glucose to produce plenty of H2O2, and TA reduced Fe(III) to Fe(II), which is a much more vigorous catalyst for the Fenton reaction. Subsequently, self-produced H2O2 was catalyzed by Fe(II) to generate highly toxic hydroxyl radical (•OH) and Fe(III). The produced Fe(III) with low catalytic activity was quickly reduced to reactive Fe(II) mediated by TA, forming an accelerated Fe(III)/Fe(II) conversion to guarantee efficient Fenton reaction-mediated CDT. This autocatalytic Fenton nanosystem might provide a good paradigm for effective tumor treatment.