Hydrated Electron‐Activated Nano‐Radiosensitizer Induces Sustained Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress for Potent Tumor Radiosensitization

ABSTRACT Radiotherapy (RT) efficacy is often limited by two key challenges: rapid restoration of tumor genomic integrity through DNA repair and the lack of tumor‐confined radiosensitization. Although existing radiosensitizers can enhance initial DNA damage, they generally fail to suppress subsequent self‐repair of tumor cells and often induce off‐target toxicity due to nonspecific activation. Here, we report a hydrated electron ()‐activated nano‐radiosensitizer (RT‐nRS) that enables tumor‐confined radiosensitization by converting transient RT‐induced damage into persistent subcellular dysfunction. Unlike conventional RT‐responsive systems that rely on short‐lived reactive oxygen species, RT‐nRS leverages the longer lifetime of to trigger the irradiation‐induced zwitterion‐to‐cationic surface transformation, thereby maintaining systemic circulation stability while enhancing tumor cellular internalization. Furthermore, preferential accumulation and prolonged retention within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) enable RT‐nRS to induce sustained ER stress, thereby simultaneously amplifying DNA damage and suppressing DNA repair. Our results demonstrate that RT‐nRS effectively overcomes tumor radioresistance while minimizing off‐target toxicity to non‐irradiated normal tissues, leading to significantly enhanced radiotherapy efficacy. Our work establishes hydrated electron‐responsive chemistry as a strategy for spatiotemporally controlled radiosensitization and provides a general framework for converting transient radiotherapeutic stimuli into durable biological outcomes.

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Publication Details

Journal
Angewandte Chemie
Published
2026-10-19
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/ange.6258337
Primary Topic
Nanoplatforms for cancer theranostics
Type
article
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article

Hydrated Electron‐Activated Nano‐Radiosensitizer Induces Sustained Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress for Potent Tumor Radiosensitization

Zhanzhan Zhang, Fan Huang, Xiaoxue Hou, Yingyi Ning et al.
Angewandte Chemie
Nanoplatforms for cancer theranostics
article

Hydrated Electron‐Activated Nano‐Radiosensitizer Induces Sustained Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress for Potent Tumor Radiosensitization

Zhanzhan Zhang, Fan Huang, Xiaoxue Hou, Yingyi Ning, Jiayu Zhang, Jianfeng Liu, Yang Liu, Yating Bai, Xi Chen
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT Radiotherapy (RT) efficacy is often limited by two key challenges: rapid restoration of tumor genomic integrity through DNA repair and the lack of tumor‐confined radiosensitization. Although existing radiosensitizers can enhance initial DNA damage, they generally fail to suppress subsequent self‐repair of tumor cells and often induce off‐target toxicity due to nonspecific activation. Here, we report a hydrated electron ()‐activated nano‐radiosensitizer (RT‐nRS) that enables tumor‐confined radiosensitization by converting transient RT‐induced damage into persistent subcellular dysfunction. Unlike conventional RT‐responsive systems that rely on short‐lived reactive oxygen species, RT‐nRS leverages the longer lifetime of to trigger the irradiation‐induced zwitterion‐to‐cationic surface transformation, thereby maintaining systemic circulation stability while enhancing tumor cellular internalization. Furthermore, preferential accumulation and prolonged retention within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) enable RT‐nRS to induce sustained ER stress, thereby simultaneously amplifying DNA damage and suppressing DNA repair. Our results demonstrate that RT‐nRS effectively overcomes tumor radioresistance while minimizing off‐target toxicity to non‐irradiated normal tissues, leading to significantly enhanced radiotherapy efficacy. Our work establishes hydrated electron‐responsive chemistry as a strategy for spatiotemporally controlled radiosensitization and provides a general framework for converting transient radiotherapeutic stimuli into durable biological outcomes.

Angewandte Chemie
Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College (CN), Nankai University (CN), State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology
Openalex Percentile: Top 24%
Nanoplatforms for cancer theranostics
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