Unraveling Ros Conversion Through Enhanced Enzyme‐Like Activity with Copper‐Doped Cerium Oxide for Tumor Nanocatalytic Therapy

Abstract

Abstract Nanozyme catalytic therapy for cancer treatments has become one of the heated topics, and the therapeutic efficacy is highly correlated with their catalytic efficiency. In this work, three copper‐doped CeO2 supports with various structures as well as crystal facets are developed to realize dual enzyme‐mimic catalytic activities, that is superoxide dismutase (SOD) to reduce superoxide radicals to H2O2 and peroxidase (POD) to transform H2O2 to ∙OH. The wire‐shaped CeO2/Cu‐W has the richest surface oxygen vacancies, and a low level of oxygen vacancy (Vo) formation energy, which allows for the elimination of intracellular reactive oxygen spieces (ROS) and continuous transformation to ∙OH with cascade reaction. Moreover, the wire‐shaped CeO2/Cu‐W displays the highest toxic ∙OH production capacity in an acidic intracellular environment, inducing breast cancer cell death and pro‐apoptotic autophagy. Therefore, wire‐shaped CeO2/Cu nanoparticles as an artificial enzyme system can have great potential in the intervention of intracellular ROS in cancer cells, achieving efficacious nanocatalytic therapy.

Keywords

• cerium oxide/copper
• nanocatalytic therapy
• nanozymes
• oxygen vacancies
• reactive oxygen species