Axial Sulfur‐Bridged Mo‐S‐Cu Nanozymes With an Asymmetric Local Electric Field Boosting Multi‐Enzymatic Activities for Ferroptosis‐Pyroptosis Therapy
The axial coordination-based nanozymes with asymmetric local electric field (LEF) are promising for efficient reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated antitumor treatments, while normally hindered by a limited LEF upon individual coordination to adjacent atoms. Herein, an axial sulfur-bridged Mo─S─Cu nanozymes with asymmetric LEF (A-CuN<sub>3</sub>S<sub>1</sub>@MoS<sub>2-x</sub>) was constructed based on nanoislands (NIs)-based axial ligand-bridging to enhance ferroptosis-pyroptosis therapy. The S bridge between Cu atoms in CuN<sub>3</sub>/C nanosheets and Mo site in NIs creates a broad and enhanced LEF, which facilitates rapid electron transfer between the nanozyme and substrates, thereby regulating its enzymatic activities. Theoretical calculations reveal that the S-bridge induces asymmetric electron-rich redistribution along the longitudinal axis of Cu─N<sub>3</sub>, promoting H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> heterolysis and O<sub>2</sub> desorption to enhance catalase-like and peroxidase-like activities. Simultaneously, Mo sites extract electrons from Cu via the S bridge, augmenting oxidase-like activities and degrade overexpressed glutathione to avoid nontherapeutic ROS consumption. Consequently, A-CuN<sub>3</sub>S<sub>1</sub>@MoS<sub>2-x</sub> induces robust ferroptosis by cytotoxic ROS accumulation and causing severe mitochondria damages, while simultaneously activating pyroptosis within the tumor region without harming normal tissues. This work demonstrates high-efficiency ferroptosis-pyroptosis therapy driven by multi-enzyme catalysis via axial Mo─S─Cu coordination with an expanded asymmetric LEF, offering a novel strategy for non-apoptotic tumor treatment.
Publication Details
- Journal
- Angewandte Chemie International Edition
- Published
- 2026-03-23
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202523888
- Primary Topic
- Nanoplatforms for cancer theranostics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00