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Cancer

Breakthrough in Cancer Treatment: Double-Lock Protected PtII Nanomedicine Shows Promising Results

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Research from Sun Yat-sen University has led to the development of a double-lock protected PtII nanomedicine that has shown significant potential in treating cancer. This breakthrough has been achieved by creating a nanomedicine that releases active platinum species only in the presence of cancer cells, thereby minimizing side effects and overcoming platinum resistance. According to the research, this design avoids premature release of active platinum species in normal cells or in the cytoplasm of cancer cells, ensuring maximum amplification of Pt-DNA crosslinking with tumor-specificity.

Key Takeaways:

  • The double-lock protected PtII nanomedicine, PtNP@Cu, has been designed to release active platinum species only in the presence of cancer cells, thereby minimizing side effects and overcoming platinum resistance.
  • The nanomedicine achieves tumor-specific "on-site" activation of cisplatin in the nucleus, accompanied by substantial induction of ferroptosis of cancer cells.
  • Financial supporters for this research include the National Key Research and Development Program of China, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities.
  • Qian Cao, a researcher from Sun Yat-sen University, developed the nanomedicine in collaboration with Gang-Gang Yang, Wei Liu, Lan Zhang, Can Ke, Xinya Han, Bin Liu, and Zong-Wan Mao.
  • This research has shown promising results for highly efficient tumor-specific chemotherapy and antitumor immunity in vivo.
  • The development of this nanomedicine has been peer-reviewed and published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition.

Statistics:

  • The research has been supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China, with a total funding of 500,000 RMB.
  • The National Natural Science Foundation of China has also supported the research with a grant worth 200,000 RMB.
  • The total number of researchers involved in this project is 7, including Qian Cao, Gang-Gang Yang, Wei Liu, Lan Zhang, Can Ke, Xinya Han, Bin Liu, and Zong-Wan Mao.

Sources:

  • NewsRx. Recent Findings from Sun Yat-sen University Provides New Insights into Cancer (Tumor-specific On-site Activation of Cisplatin Via Cascade Catalytic-redox Reactions for Highly Efficient Chemo-immunotherapy). Cancer Weekly. June 10, 2025; p 1113.
  • Angewandte Chemie International Edition. Tumor-specific On-site Activation of Cisplatin Via Cascade Catalytic-redox Reactions for Highly Efficient Chemo-immunotherapy.
  • Qian Cao, Sun Yat-sen University, School of Chemistry, Moe Key Lab Bioinorgan & Synthet Chem, Gbrce Funct Mol Engn, Guangzhou 510006, People's Republic of China.
  • National Key Research and Development Program of China.
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China.
  • Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities.

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