Novel biodegradable two-dimensional vanadene augmented photoelectro-fenton process for cancer catalytic therapy

Fenton reaction-based chemodynamic therapy is hardly a self-sufficient cancer treatment, due to its stringent reaction conditions, limited substrate concentration, and negative feedback from the tumor microenvironment. Herein, we synthesized a novel two-dimensional (2D) vanadium-based nanosheets (Vanadene, V NSs) with polyvalent surfaces (VIV/VV), a very narrow band gap of 0.8 eV, and high biodegradability by a liquid-phase exfoliation strategy. The polyvalent surface endowed its multiple capabilities to modulate TME through GSH consumption and O2 production via VV and to catalyze a Fenton-like reaction to produce ·OH under a mild condition via VIV. In addition, efficient energy conversions including near-infrared (NIR)-thermal conversion (photothermal therapy, PTT) and NIR-electron conversion (photodynamic therapy, PDT) were ensured by the narrow band gap, in which NIR-thermal conversion enhanced the Fenton-like reaction activity through accelerating ionization while NIR-electron conversion catalyzed the conversion of O2 to ·O2− for further breaking redox homeostasis. Moreover, V NSs-based nanocatalyst can be slowly degraded into non-toxic species, enabling it to be innocuously eliminated from the body after completing tumor eradication by single drug injection and single NIR irradiation. Therefore, this study provides new insights into a universal nanoplatform for NIR-enhanced combination cancer therapy, highlighting the utility of 2D V NSs in the field of biomedicine.