FePt Nanoparticles Embedded in Metal-Organic Framework Nanoparticles for Tumor Imaging and Eradication

In the tumor microenvironment (TME), an efficient Fenton reaction agent could have attractive tumor therapeutic efficacy, which is primarily based on delivering drugs to the tumor accurately and depressing undesirable side effects. Here, a metal-organic framework (MOF), with good biocompatibility and high loading capacity, with encapsulated FePt NPs (FePt-MOF NCs) and face-centered cubic (fcc)-FePt was successfully designed to eradicate cancer cells. The as-prepared multifunctional FePt-MOF NCs serve as a nanotheranostic agent for magnetic resonance/computed tomography (MR/CT) dual-modal imaging based on superparamagnetism and cancer therapy due to the well-known Fenton reactions. The drug nanodelivery system based on MOFs was able to safely deliver on the basis of intravenous administration. Because of its high sensitivity to acidic environments, the FePt-MOF would collapse and further release Fe and Pt ions, which would effectively trigger the Fenton reaction to produce plentiful toxic hydroxyl radicals in the acidic tumor microenvironment. On the one hand, the radicals could result in apoptotic cell death, whereas, on the other hand, they also lure the cumulation of lipid peroxides, causing tumor cell ferroptosis. These results indicated the great potential of the FePt-MOF NCs as a multifunction platform for tumor therapeutic and image applications.