Clustered Cobalt Nanodots Initiate Ferroptosis by Upregulating Heme Oxygenase 1 for Radiotherapy Sensitization (Small 10/2023)

Radiotherapy Sensitization Enhancing the cellular radiosensitivity is instrumental for improving the efficacy of tumor radiotherapy. In article number 2206415, Junping Wang, Cheng Wang, and co-workers report a tumor-penetrating nanomaterial iCoDMSN constituted with dendritic mesoporous silica nanoparticles and iRGD peptide-conjugated CoO@BSA nanodots. By decreasing KEAP1 expression and upregulating nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) and heme oxygenase 1 (HMOX1), iCoDMSN expands the labile iron pool in cancer cells and initiates ferroptosis, whereby the nanomaterial sensitizes cancer cells to ionized radiation and eliminates the tumors combined with radiotherapy.