Fe-doped polydopamine pickering emulsion as a nanoplatform for synergistic photothermal-ferroptosis immunotherapy in breast cancer
- 1Department of Breast Surgery, Changzhou Cancer Hospital (The Fourth People’s Hospital of Changzhou)
- 2School of Materials Science and Engineering, Changzhou University
Abstract
Introduction: Triple-negative breast cancer remains a formidable clinical challenge owing to its immunosuppressive microenvironment and inherently low immunogenicity.
Methods: To address this, we developed a multifunctional Pickering emulsion (Fe-PDA-PE-R837) stabilized by iron-doped polydopamine (Fe-PDA) nanoparticles, which function dually as photothermal agents and localized iron donors, while the soybean oil core encapsulates the immunoadjuvant R837. The Fe-PDA nanoparticles exhibited uniform spherical morphology, excellent colloidal stability, and a broad absorption band extending to the NIR region. Upon 808 nm laser irradiation, the Fe-PDA shell generates local hyperthermia with a photothermal conversion efficiency of 38.5%, disrupts intracellular iron homeostasis to provoke ferroptotic cell death, as evidenced by GSH depletion and MDA accumulation, while the stimuli-responsive release of R837 coupled with immunogenic cell death (ICD) elicits potent local and systemic pro-inflammatory responses.
Results: In vitro assays demonstrated that the combination treatment achieved ∼80% cell killing, markedly inhibited cell migration, and significantly upregulated TNF-α and IL-12 secretion. In vivo evaluation using the 4T1 murine breast cancer model confirmed that this nanoplatform significantly suppressed primary tumor growth and pulmonary metastasis, with no appreciable systemic toxicity.
Discussion: Collectively, this interfacial engineering strategy underscores the promising translational potential of Pickering emulsion-based nanoplatforms for aggressive solid tumor therapy.
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BibTeX
@article{xu2026fedoped,
title = {{Fe-doped polydopamine pickering emulsion as a nanoplatform for synergistic photothermal-ferroptosis immunotherapy in breast cancer}},
author = {Ling-Yu Xu and Peng Zhang and Min-Jing Yu and Hao-Ran Li and Li-Chen Cao and Haiyan Gao},
journal = {Frontiers in Pharmacology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fphar.2026.1956784},
url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2026.1956784/full},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Fe-doped polydopamine pickering emulsion as a nanoplatform for synergistic photothermal-ferroptosis immunotherapy in breast cancer
AU - Ling-Yu Xu
AU - Peng Zhang
AU - Min-Jing Yu
AU - Hao-Ran Li
AU - Li-Chen Cao
AU - Haiyan Gao
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/07
JO - Frontiers in Pharmacology
DO - 10.3389/fphar.2026.1956784
UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2026.1956784/full
AB - Introduction: Triple-negative breast cancer remains a formidable clinical challenge owing to its immunosuppressive microenvironment and inherently low immunogenicity. Methods: To address this, we developed a multifunctional Pickering emulsion (Fe-PDA-PE-R837) stabilized by iron-doped polydopamine (Fe-PDA) nanoparticles, which function dually as photothermal agents and localized iron donors, while the soybean oil core encapsulates the immunoadjuvant R837. The Fe-PDA nanoparticles exhibited uniform spherical morphology, excellent colloidal stability, and a broad absorption band extending to the NIR region. Upon 808 nm laser irradiation, the Fe-PDA shell generates local hyperthermia with a photothermal conversion efficiency of 38.5%, disrupts intracellular iron homeostasis to provoke ferroptotic cell death, as evidenced by GSH depletion and MDA accumulation, while the stimuli-responsive release of R837 coupled with immunogenic cell death (ICD) elicits potent local and systemic pro-inflammatory responses. Results: In vitro assays demonstrated that the combination treatment achieved ∼80% cell killing, markedly inhibited cell migration, and significantly upregulated TNF-α and IL-12 secretion. In vivo evaluation using the 4T1 murine breast cancer model confirmed that this nanoplatform significantly suppressed primary tumor growth and pulmonary metastasis, with no appreciable systemic toxicity. Discussion: Collectively, this interfacial engineering strategy underscores the promising translational potential of Pickering emulsion-based nanoplatforms for aggressive solid tumor therapy.
SN - 1663-9812
ER -