Red blood membrane camouflaging Bismuth nanoflowers designed for radio-photothermal therapy in lung cancer

Abstract

Radio-photothermal therapy is an effective modality for cancer treatment. To overcome the radio-resistance in the hypoxic microenvironment and improve the sensitivity of radiotherapy, metal nanoparticles, and radio-photothermal therapy are widely used in the research of improving the curative effect and reducing the side effects of radiotherapy. Here, we developed red blood membrane camouflaging bismuth nanoflowers (RBCM-BNF) with outstanding physiological stability and biodegradability for lung tumours. In vitro data proved that the RBCM-BNF had the greatest cancer cell-killing ability combined with X-ray irradiation and photo-thermal treatment. Meanwhile, in vivo studies revealed that RBCM-BNF can alleviate the hypoxic microenvironment and promote tumour cell apoptosis by inhibiting HIF-1α expression and increasing caspase-3 expression. Therefore, RBCM-BNF had a good radio-sensitising effect and might be a promising biomimetic nanoplatform as a therapeutic target for cancer.

Keywords:

• RBCM-BNF
• radiosensitizers
• biomimetic delivery
• one-pot synthesis
• tumor microenvironment
• radio-photothermal therapy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Permission to reproduce materials from other sources

None.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Jiangsu Students’ innovation and entrepreneurship training program (Grant No. 202210316146).