MagGraphZyme · Design of novel Magnetic Graphene Oxide Nanozyme platform for Theranostic applications

Design of novel Magnetic Graphene Oxide Nanozyme platform for Theranostic applications

Cancer is among the leading causes of death worldwide. According to data compiled by the International Agency for research on cancer (https://gco.iarc.fr/en) In 2022, there were almost 20 million new cases and 9.7 million cancer-related deaths worldwide. By 2040, the number of new cancer cases per year is expected to rise to 29.9 million and the number of cancer-related deaths to 15.3 million. Due to this rapid growth, it is imperative to combine all necessary efforts to mitigate the evolution of this disease and to eliminate cancer cell more efficiently. Thanks to advancements on immunotherapy, targeted therapies, nanotechnology among others, the new strategies to cancer research has gradually shifted its focus to a combination of them for enhanced treatment effectiveness. Specifically, the rise of catalytic medicine through nanozymes (nanomaterials that mimic enzymatic activity) shows promise in combination with therapies such as photothermal therapy (PTT), photodynamic and sonodynamic therapy (PDT/SDT), and magnetic fluid hyperthermia (MFH), where the common point is to provoke the cancer cells death (through the oxidative stress ) enhancing the reactive oxygen/nitrogen species (ROS/RNS) production, by the stimulation of multifunctional hybrid nanomaterials (MFHNM) previously loaded on cancer cells, with an external source: Near infrared laser (NIR), ultrasounds or alternate magnetic field (AMF), by the decomposition of the cellular endogenous hydrogen peroxide H2O2 through Fenton and Heber-Weiss reactions. Modelling the cell death mechanisms by any of these approaches requires identifying in first place the best configuration of MFHNM to use (that with the best features such as heating efficiency as catalytic performace) by which it necessary to carried out an in-depth characterization of them. In second place the intracellular distribution of the agents (MFNMs) that provokes metabolic or physical cell damage and in third place the evaluation of damage that they generate on the specific place on the cellular environment. With this synergistic approach in mind, we objectives are focused on production, characterization in depth of MFHNM based on magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) as heating agents for ROS production and its evaluation on cancer cells.This project looking to advance on the understanding of the molecular mechanisms of cancer cell death pathways which is essential for understanding their role in cancer progression, which represent a highly ambitious objective, with a global impact and perfectly aligned with Pillar 2, "Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness" (health), of the Horizon Europe (HE) program. Additionally, the scientific challenges involved represent research at the frontier of knowledge, aligning with Pillar 1, "Excellent Science," within HE

Data: CORDIS, © European Union