Bismuthene-Based Nanoplatform for Synergistic Thermogenetic CRISPR and Photothermal Cancer Therapy
Overcoming tumor thermotolerance within clinically safe temperature ranges remains a central limitation of photothermal therapy (PTT). Here we report a closed-loop therapeutic nanoplatform that integrates topologically enhanced photothermal conversion with thermally gated CRISPR/Cas9 regulation. Rationally engineered hexagonal bismuthene nanodiscs exhibit strong near-infrared responsiveness, enabling mild hyperthermia (∼45 °C) that activates a heat-sensitive CRISPR switch targeting CDK7. The resulting disruption of the CDK7-HSP70 stress axis lowers the thermal resistance threshold and reprograms tumor adaptation, thereby amplifying photothermal efficacy and promoting immunogenic cell death. In triple-negative breast cancer models, this gene-thermal feedback achieves >93% tumor inhibition with minimal systemic toxicity. This work establishes a genetically programmable, thermogenetic nanomaterial paradigm that links material design with gene logic for next-generation precision cancer therapy.
Authors
- Changle Meng
- Bo Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0989-2191)
- Changyu Yoon
- Zhongjian Xie
- Jong Seung Kim
- Hoyeon Jang
- Yingxia Liu
- Huiling Lin
- Han Zhang
- Zhi Chen
- Hao Huang
- Yujin Kim
Institutions
- Shenzhen University (CN)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Southern University of Science and Technology (CN)
- State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics (CN)
- Xinjiang Technical Institute of Physics & Chemistry (CN)
- International Biomedical (United States) (US)
- Shenzhen Third People’s Hospital (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nano Letters
- Published
- 2026-03-03
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.5c06006
- Primary Topic
- Nanoplatforms for cancer theranostics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00