Near-Infrared Light Dual-Promoted Heterogeneous Copper Nanocatalyst for Highly Efficient Bioorthogonal Chemistry <i>in Vivo</i>.

Abstract

Owing to better stability and biosafety, heterogeneous Cu nanoparticles (CuNPs) have been put forward as a promising candidate to complete the Cu(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction. However, the inherent poor activity of Cu(0) deterred its wide bioapplication. Herein, we employed near-infrared (NIR) light to dual-promote the CuAAC reaction of a biocompatible heterogeneous copper nanocatalyst through photodynamic and photothermal effects <i>in vitro</i> and <i>in vivo</i>. Specifically, the photodynamic activity could promote the conversion of Cu(0) to Cu(I) to accelerate the catalytic process of CuAAC. The high photothermal conversion efficiency (η = 50.6%) could increase the local temperature, further promoting the whole reaction. Then, a drastically increased reaction rate in a living system ranging from cells to nematodes was achieved in our system. Meanwhile, the better antitumor efficacy has determined with <i>in vivo</i> tumor therapy experiments.