Carbon Dot@MXene Nanozymes with Triple Enzyme-Mimic Activities for Mild NIR-II Photothermal-Amplified Nanocatalytic Therapy.

Abstract

Nanozymes have shown promising potential in disease treatment owing to the advantages of low-cost, facile fabrication, and high stability. However, the highly complex tumor microenvironment (TME) and inherent low catalytic activity severely restrict the clinical applications of nanozymes. Herein, a novel mild hyperthermia-enhanced nanocatalytic therapy platform based on Z-scheme heterojunction nanozymes by depositing N-doped carbon dots (CDs) onto Nb₂ C nanosheets is constructed. CD@Nb₂ C nanozymes not only display outstanding photothermal effects in the safe and efficient NIR-II window but also possess triple enzyme-mimic activities to obtain amplified ROS levels. The triple enzyme-mimic activities and NIR-II photothermal properties of CD nanozymes are enhanced by the construction of Z-scheme heterojunctions owing to the accelerated carrier transfer process. More importantly, the introduction of mild hyperthermia can further improve the peroxidase-mimic and catalase-mimic activities as well as the glGSH depletion abilities of CD@Nb₂ C nanozymes, thereby producing more ROS to efficiently inhibit tumor growth. The combined therapy effect of CD@Nb₂ C nanozymes through mild NIR-II photothermal-enhanced nanocatalytic therapy can achieve complete tumor eradication. This work highlights the efficient tumor therapy potential of heterojunction nanozymes.