A novel pH-responsive Fe-MOF system for enhanced cancer treatment mediated by the Fenton reaction

Abstract

Recently, the toxic hydroxyl radical (·OH) has received wide interest for inducing cell apoptosis by increasing the intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels. Herein, a cationic polymer (MV-PAH) was rationally synthesized, and a new pH-responsive nanoreactor (DOX@Fe-MOF@PEM) was modified with the prepared cationic polymer MV-PAH multilayers by layer-by-layer (LBL) technique. The polyelectrolyte multilayer (PEM) disassembled and notably enhanced drug delivery in the weak acid environment of the tumor cell. In the cytotoxicity and apoptosis experiments, DOX@Fe-MOF@PEM revealed an advanced repression of cancer. The H₂O₂ induced by DOX and MV-PAH could be catalyzed to generate hypertoxic ·OH through intracellular iron ions based on a Fenton-like reaction, which thereby improved the anticancer effect of DOX. This realistic strategy may create a potential way to provide a combination of ROS and chemotherapy to improve the anti-cancer effect.