A H+-triggered bubble-generating nanosystem for killing cancer cells†
Abstract
We constructed a H+-triggered bubble-generating nanosystem (BGNS), which generated CO2 bubbles in the acidic environment of lysosomes after being internalized by cancer cells. The quickly generated bubbles caused enhanced lysosomal membrane permeabilization. As expected, H+-triggered BGNS possessed remarkable cytotoxicity against MCF-7 breast cancer cells, and successfully overcame the multidrug resistance of MCF-7/ADR cells.