Background
Type: Article

Synergistic effects of doxorubicin and nanocellulose-functionalized iron oxide nanozymes: Catalytic efficiency and chemo/chemodynamic cancer therapy approaches

Journal: Materials Today Communications (23524928)Year: 2025/03/01Volume: 44Issue:
Jonaidi P. Bagdeli S.Taheri Kafrani A.a
DOI:10.1016/j.mtcomm.2025.111847Language: English

Abstract

During the last decade, researchers have developed synthetic substances that mimic the properties of enzymes due to the limitations of natural enzymes. This has led to the creation of nanozymes, nanomaterials with enzyme-like catalytic properties. Herein, iron oxide nanozymes (Fe3O4) with peroxidase-like activity (POD) were synthesized via a single-step solvothermal process. Subsequently, these nanozymes were surface-functionalized with nanocellulose, a biocompatible and biodegradable biopolymer, to examine its influence on POD-like activity. A significant 42.7 % increase in specific POD-like activity was observed for Fe3O4 nanozymes functionalized with nanocellulose (Fe3O4@NC), accompanied by a six-fold enhancement in maximum velocity (vmax) for the 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) substrate. The Fe3O4@NC nanozymes were capable of utilizing intracellular hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and generating highly reactive oxygen species through the Fenton reaction and enhanced POD-like activity, leading to the elimination of MCF-7 breast cancer cells via chemodynamic therapy. Furthermore, the incorporation of doxorubicin, an anticancer drug, into Fe3O4@NC nanozymes demonstrated a synergistic effect on chemo/chemodynamic cancer therapy. Concluded, the Fe3O4@NC nanozyme/nanocarrier exhibits considerable potential as an effective therapeutic agent for cancer cells, particularly when employed in conjunction with chemo/chemodynamic therapy. © 2025 Elsevier Ltd


Author Keywords

Chemo/chemodynamic therapyDoxorubicineFenton reactionIron oxide nanozymeNanocellulose

Other Keywords

NanoclayNanoporesChemo/chemodynamic therapyChemodynamicsDoxorubicinDoxorubicineFenton reactionsFunctionalizedIron oxide nanozymeNano-cellulosePeroxidase-like activitiesSynergistic effectNanocellulose