Rational Design of Functional Coordination Polymer for Enhanced Cancer Therapy

Abstract

Chemodynamic therapy (CDT) represents a promising anticancer strategy in overcoming the bottlenecks of traditional tumor treatments. The rational design of CDT agents with improved therapeutic efficacy and safety, and the addressing of clinical translation challenges are critical scientific issues to be resolved. This work reports the design and synthesis of a coordination polymer with copper ions as metal nodes and a boron dipyrromethene derivative as the organic ligand, aiming to construct an efficient chemodynamic therapeutic system. The synthesized coordination polymer adopts the P1̅ space group and possesses one-dimensional channels, which can be fabricated into uniformly nanoscale coordination polymer particles. The nanoparticles could generate hydroxyl radicals via Fenton-like reactions and deplete intracellular glutathione to enhance the CDT efficacy. These reactions trigger excessive intracellular reactive oxygen species accumulation and subsequent mitochondrial structural damage and dysfunction, thereby amplifying the anticancer activity. Meanwhile, the typical red fluorescence of the ligand serves as an indicator of real-time tracking. This study not only demonstrates the enhanced chemodynamic therapeutic efficacy but also provides a conceptual framework and experimental foundation for the development of coordination polymer-based tumor therapeutic materials.