Nanoparticle facilitated delivery of peroxides for effective cancer treatments

Abstract

Through the utilization of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) in cancer cells, nanoparticle-facilitated catalytic generation of therapeutic molecules such as O₂ and hydroxyl radicals enabled enhanced anticancer efficacy of O₂ or reactive oxygen species-dependent therapies. However, the intracellular H₂O₂ was inadequate to obtain satisfactory therapeutic outcomes. Although several reagents such as glucose oxidase and cisplatin could promote H₂O₂ levels by O₂ conversion, H₂O₂-mediated therapeutic efficacy was still hindered in the hypoxic tumor microenvironment. Fortunately, exogenous delivery of H₂O₂ or other peroxides to tumor sites was able to break the limitation of intracellular O₂ and H₂O₂ levels and enhance anti-tumor effects. In this review, we summarize the recent progress in constructing a peroxide delivery system for cancer treatments and discuss their challenges and potential applications.