{
  "abstract": "Photodynamic therapy (PDT) holds great promise for cancer treatment owing to its spatiotemporal selectivity and minimal invasiveness. However, its therapeutic efficacy is hampered by photosensitizer self-quenching and intrinsic tumor hypoxia. Herein, we construct a tumor-microenvironment (TME)-activated dual-prodrug nanosystem (PheoA-CSSE-JSK) integrating the photosensitizer prodrug PheoA and nitric-oxide (NO) prodrug JSK for targeted tumor delivery. Tumor-abundant glutathione (GSH) cleaves disulfide bonds to restore the photoactivity of PheoA, which generates reactive oxygen species (ROS) under near-infrared irradiation. Meanwhile, intracellular GSH/glutathione S-transferase (GST) triggers NO release from JSK. NO-derived reactive nitrogen species (RNS) can degrade the tumor collagen matrix, which is inferred to potentially relieve hypoxia and further boost ROS production. GSH consumption, together with NO-mediated inhibition of the mitochondrial respiratory chain, may further augment ROS levels. We propose a self-reinforcing ROS-amplification working model involving PheoA photoactivation, potential NO-associated hypoxia alleviation, GSH depletion, and mitochondrial respiratory-chain inhibition. Collectively, these combined effects facilitate mitochondrial-dependent apoptosis and prominent antitumor outcomes. This TME-responsive dual-prodrug nanoplatform provides a promising strategy to augment PDT against hypoxic tumors.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Hebei Key Laboratory of Functional Polymers, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300401, China"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 7,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yuxuan Gu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jiaqi Ding"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jialin Zhang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Xiaoxuan Liu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Zhuotao Xu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jimin Zhang",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7037-5842"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Xiongwei Qu"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1e4w96drh0dzy.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3390/polym18202606",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "1e4w96drh0dzy",
  "issns": [
    "2073-4360"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/18/20/2606",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2204|Nanoplatforms for cancer theranostics"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223172527",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-21",
  "publisher": "MDPI AG",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1e4w96drh0dzy.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:18:44Z",
      "native_id": "10.3390/polym18202606",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/18/20/2606"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "chemistry",
      "origin": "issn:2073-4360",
      "subfield": "materials-polymers"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Tumor Microenvironment-Triggered Dual-Prodrug Nanoplatform for Augmented Photodynamic Therapy: Self-Quenched Photosensitizer Activation and Nitric Oxide-Mediated Sensitization",
  "title_text": "Tumor Microenvironment-Triggered Dual-Prodrug Nanoplatform for Augmented Photodynamic Therapy: Self-Quenched Photosensitizer Activation and Nitric Oxide-Mediated Sensitization",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:18:44Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1e4w96drh0dzy",
  "venue": "Polymers",
  "versions": []
}