Abstract
Patient outcomes from the current clinical cancer therapy remain still far from satisfactory. However, in recent years, several biomedical discoveries and nanotechnological innovations have been made, so there is an impetus to combine these with conventional treatments to improve patient experience and disease prognosis. Ferroptosis, a term first coined in 2012, is an iron-dependent regulated cell death (RCD) based on the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the consequent oxidization of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). Many nanomaterials that can induce ferroptosis have been explored for applications in cancer therapy. In this review, we summarize the recent developments in ferroptosis-based nanomaterials for cancer therapy and discuss the future of ferroptosis, nanomedicine, and cancer therapy.
1 Introduction
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death and one of the most important diseases affecting human health worldwide (). According to the recent global cancer statistics, there were over 19 million new cancer cases and 10.0 million cancer deaths in 2020, and the cancer burden might be expected to reach 28.4 million cases by 2040 (Sung et al., 2021). Therefore, the development of cancer prevention and treatment strategies is crucial to achieve global cancer control. Conventional approaches, such as surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, have been utilized; however, the prognosis does not achieve both the doctor’s and patient’s satisfaction due to the hallmarks of cancer, such as sustaining proliferative signaling, evading growth suppressors, nonmutational epigenetic reprograming, avoiding immune destruction, activating invasion and metastasis, inducing vasculature, genome instability and mutation, resisting cell death, and deregulating cellular metabolism (). Accompanied with the significant scientific and technological advancements in recent times, several new technologies are currently under research in clinical trials, and some of them have already been approved for clinical application, including stem cell therapy, targeted therapy, ablation therapy, photodynamic therapy (PDT), photothermal therapy (PTT), chemodynamic therapy (CDT), sonodynamic therapy (SDT), and ferroptosis-based therapy (FBT) ().
Ferroptosis is a novel type of regulated cell death (RCD) that is iron-dependent and characterized by the oxidization of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and subsequently accumulation of lipid peroxides (LPOs) (Figure 1) (Shi et al., 2021). During the past two decades, Brent R. Stockwell et al. focused on ferroptosis, and their research studies have attracted global attention. Specifically, in 2003, they identified a novel compound and named it “erastin” (). Intriguingly, they found that although cell death occurred, characteristics of apoptosis were not observed when erastin was present in several tumor cells. In 2007, they found that erastin-induced cell death could be suppressed by α-tocopherol (Yagoda et al., 2007). In 2008, they found another small compound, Ras selective lethal 3 (RSL3) that induced analogous iron-dependent nonapoptotic cell death in RAS-enriched cancer cells, and this could also be restrained by the presence of α-tocopherol or desferrioxamine mesylate (DFOM) (Yang and Stockwell, 2008). In 2011, they confirmed that erastin- and RSL3-induced cell death differed from the mechanism of other cell deaths (Wolpaw et al., 2011). Therefore, in 2012, they named this phenomenon ‘ferroptosis’ (). Ferroptosis is distinct from apoptosis, autophagy, and necroptosis in terms of morphology, biochemistry, and genetics (). Cells experiencing ferroptosis show special hallmarks, including the fracture of the cell membrane, smaller mitochondria, increased density of the mitochondrial membrane, reduced/vanished mitochondrial cristae, and outer mitochondrial membrane breakup; however, the nuclei remain normal ().
FIGURE 1
Many nanotechnologists have focused on cancer therapy in recent years because of the promising physicochemical properties of nanomaterials (Liang et al., 2019), and an increasing number of biomedical nanomaterials have been widely investigated as nanomaterial-based drug delivery systems for anticancer therapeutics, with enhanced drug availability, improved efficacy, targeted delivery, and reduced treatment-related toxicity, which could better solve the disadvantages of anticancer drugs with low solubility and poor membrane permeability (Luo et al., 2014; ; ). Nanomaterials possess an exceptional advantage of the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect, which is related to anatomical and pathophysiological differences between the tumor tissue and normal tissue. Crucially, the solid tumors are highly vascularized and have large gaps between the endothelial cells in tumor vessels; as a result, macromolecular drugs are selectively extravasated and retained by the tumor tissues (). Nevertheless, the EPR effect can be influenced by the systolic blood pressure and is negligible in advanced cancers (Maeda 2015; ; Shan et al., 2020). In addition to the EPR effect, several strategies were taken into advantage by the researchers, such as modifying targeting molecules, remodeling the tumor microenvironment (TME), and enabling tumor stimuli–responsive properties (Shi et al., 2017; Youn and Bae, 2018; Park et al., 2019). Thus, nanomaterials can be used as delivery agents for anticancer drugs, but they can also be used to convert energy to kill cancer cells, such as light, ultrasound (US), electricity, and magnetothermal energy (). As a result, in the last few years, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a large number of anticancer nanomaterials, demonstrating the huge potential of nanomaterials for the precision and personalized cancer therapies in future.
Ferroptosis, as a novel RCD, has become a popular area of cancer research, and, thus, numerous nanomaterials that induce ferroptosis have been developed for cancer therapy because of their potential antitumor properties. In this review, we try to summarize and discuss the multifunctional ferroptosis-based nanomaterials on the recent advances and breakthroughs in cancer therapies.
2 FERROPTOSIS INDUCERS (FINs)
The FINs can be classified into four types (Figure 2). Class I FINs could block the biosynthesis of glutathione (GSH) or deplete it. Many small compounds (such as erastin, imidazole ketone erastin, piperazine erastin, sulfasalazine, and sorafenib) can inhibit system Xc−, which could transfer cystine into the cells and export glutamate out of the cells (). The system Xc− consists of solute carrier family 7 member A11 (SLC7A11, also known as xCT) and SLC3A2 (4F2hc) (Shi et al., 2021). GSH is a cofactor of GSH peroxidase 4 (GPX4), which is a crucial regulator for the conversion of LPOs to the corresponding hydroxyl compounds (LOH). Therefore, the depletion of GSH can inactivate GPX4, subsequently resulting in the accumulation of LPOs to induce ferroptosis. Class II FINs directly inhibit GPX4. Small compounds (such as RSL3, ML162, ML210, and altretamine) can interact with the active selenocyteine site of GPX4 and inhibit its enzymatic activity, resulting in the accumulation of LPOs (). Class III FINs deplete the GPX4 protein. For example, the compounds FIN56 and caspase-independent lethal 56 (CIL56) could induce ferroptosis by directly degrading the GPX4 and synchronously depleting the mevalonate-derived coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) (Shimada et al., 2016). Class IV FINs could induce lipid peroxidation, but there is only one small compound, FIN endoperoxide (FINO2), that can directly oxidize iron, indirectly inactivate GPX4, and ultimately cause lipid peroxidation (). This compound is suitable in vitro; however, it might not be effective in vivo.
FIGURE 2
3 Nanomaterials as FINs
The design of the multifunctional nanomaterials with precisely tuned physicochemical properties could enhance the drug delivery for cancer therapy. The first ferroptosis-inducing nanomaterial was reported by Kim et al. in 2016 (Figure 3) (). They coated the near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent silica nanoparticles (NPs) with ploy (ethylene glycol)-coated (PEGylated) and Cornell dots (C′ dots) and surface-modified with the melanoma-targeting peptide and alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone (αMSH). The C′ dots could absorb and incorporate extracellular iron into their structure to increase the intracellular iron level with the subsequent production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and depletion of GSH, ultimately leading to ferroptosis in different cancer models. The research laid the groundwork for investigating nanomaterials as effective FINs in sensitive tumors.
FIGURE 3
3.1 Iron-Contained Nanomaterials
Owing to the crucial role of iron in ferroptosis, iron-contained nanomaterials have become the most popular nanomaterials for FBT. In recent years, several types of iron-contained nanomaterials have been explored to induce ferroptosis.
3.1.1 Iron Ion–Based Nanomaterials
The different valence states of iron have been exploited to develop nanomaterials that act as FINs to kill cancer cells. In the zero-valent iron NP (ZVI NPs)–sensitive cancer cells, Fe0 could be oxidized to Fe2+ (
FIGURE 4

(A) Synthesis scheme of ACC@DOX-Fe2+-Ca-FA/mPEG and its therapeutic action. (B–D) Confocal laser scanning microscopy observation in 4T1 tumor cells about the intracellular distribution of the LPOs (B), the changes in the mitochondrial membrane potential (C) and apoptosis levels (D) after treatment with (I) PBS, (II) ACC-Ca-FA/mPEG, (III) DOX, (IV) ACC@DOX-Ca-FA/mPEG, (V) ACC@DOX-Fe2+-Ca-FA/mPEG, and (VI) MMP-2–treated ACC@DOX-Fe2+-Ca-FA/mPEG. (E) Molecular mechanism for ACC@DOX-Fe2+-Ca-FA/mPEG-induced ferroptosis/apoptosis. Reproduced with permission from Xue et al., (2020) Copyright @ 2020 (AAAS).
Recently, Cui et al. prepared a nanoenzyme in which Fe3+ was substantially reserved in the polypyrrole NPs (FePPy NPs) (
Dopamine can be used to load hydrophobic drugs and metal ions due to its aromatic rings and catechol groups (
FIGURE 5

Synthesis scheme of the Fe2+PDA@LAP-PEG-cRGD nanomaterial and mechanism of PTT/FBT for cancer. Adapted from Xue et al., (2021) Copyright @ 2021 (Wiley).
Iron ions could also be coordinated to some nanomaterials. For example, Jiang Y. et al. reported a hybrid semiconducting nanozyme (HSN) possessing high photothermal (PT) conversion efficiency and NIR-II PAI-guided PTT/FBT (
3.1.2 Iron‐Based Metal‐Organic Frameworks (MOFs)
The nanoscale MOFs formed by Fe2+ and 2-aminoterephthalic acid (BDC-NH2) possessed excellent stability and pH-responsive degradation to release Fe2+ in the acidic TME, which could catalyze the Fenton reaction and produce considerable quantities of ROS to induce Fe2+-mediated ferroptosis (Xu et al., 2020). The perfluoropentane@Fe/Cu-SS MOF is displayed as an effective FIN because it could increase the production of LPO through the Fenton reaction and inhibit the GPX4 that prevents LPO transfer to LOH in the presence of GSH, whereas the Fe3+ and Cu2+ in the MOF could consume GSH, further inhibiting GPX4 activity. Perfluoropentane@Fe/Cu-SS MOF also enabled T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), US imaging, and PTT (
The addition of cancer cell membranes to nanomaterials enables homologous targeting and immune escaping capabilities. Wan et al. reported a nanomaterial containing Fe3+-based MIL-100 and glucose oxidase (GOx) that catalyzed the degradation of glucose to generate sufficient H2O2 for FBT (Wan et al., 2020). When the nanomaterial was obtained by the tumor cells, intracellular GSH triggered the disruption of MOF via reducing Fe3+ to release Fe2+ and GOx. The nanomaterial exhibited highly effective tumor inhibition and enabled precise collaborative tumor therapy with spatiotemporal controllability. Another MOF nanomaterial loading with GOx and DOX was also coated with the cancer cell membrane (denoted as mFe(SS)/DG) (Figure 6) (Yang, J. et al., 2021). The mFe(SS)/DG system based on Fe3+ and disulfide-bearing ligands depleted GSH and suppressed GPX4 activity to induce ferroptosis. The increasing ROS facilitated ferroptosis and restrained glycolysis. Thus, immunogenic cell death (ICD) induced by the synergistic effect of ferroptosis and DOX released tumor antigens to trigger antitumor immunity when the inhibition of glycolysis remodeled the tumor immunogenicity and immunosuppressive microenvironment to strengthen the antitumor immunity.
FIGURE 6

Schematic illustration of mFe (SS)/DG and the mechanism based on ferroptosis–glycolysis regulation. Adapted from Yang J et al., (2021); Yang Y et al., (2021) Copyright @ 2021 (Elsevier).
In addition, iron-based MOFs can be loaded with FINs to enhance ferroptosis. For example, MIL88B loaded with RSL3 forced M2 macrophages to increase the glycolytic metabolism (
3.1.3 FePt-Based Nanomaterials
FePt-based nanomaterials have potential clinical applications in cancer therapy. For example, a ferroptosis nanotheranostic agent was designed by integrating FePt as the core, Eu3+-based luminescent molecule, and FA as the targeting molecule (Yue et al., 2018). FePt-based nanomaterials exhibited an excellent MRI, computed tomography (CT), and time-gated luminescence properties in the clinical diagnosis and had excellent capacity to trigger ferroptosis of cancer in vitro and in vivo.
The FePt NPs can also be loaded onto diverse nanomaterials to show their advantages. An acidic responsive nanoagent FePt@MnO@DSPE-PEG-FA NP was successfully constructed for MRI-guided FBT/CDT of cancer (Figure 7) (Yang et al., 2019). It could release active Fe2+ to elevate ROS production via the Fenton reaction to induce ferroptosis. In addition, Mn2+ could be released from the nanomaterial in the acidic TME and scavenge GSH to enhance the T1/T2-weighted MRI, which could obviously distinguish the solid tumors. Prussian blue (PB) nanocubes were utilized as PT agents, and FePt NPs were loaded onto the surface of the nanocube via in situ reduction (
FIGURE 7

(A) Synthesis scheme of FMDF NPs. (B) Acidic-responsive and dual-model imaging-guided FBT/CDT. Adapted from Yang et al., (2019) Copyright @ 2019 (ACS).
3.1.4 Iron Oxide (IO)–Based Nanomaterials
IONPs, which have been approved by the FDA, have been widely applied in cancer therapy because they produce ROS via the Fenton reaction.
An innovative local chemotherapy combined with a gene therapy–based IONP was developed as a treatment for patients with glioblastoma (Zhang et al., 2020). The porous structure of IONPs attached -COOH groups and could encapsulate the small interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting GPX4 (siGPX4) and cisplatin. After uptake, the IONPs degraded and released Fe2+/Fe3+, and the H2O2 level increased owing to the activating reduced NOX. Furthermore, the cisplatin destroyed both nuclear and mitochondrial DNA, while siGPX4 restrained GPX4 expression. The manganese-deposited IO (FMO) NPs were loaded with the cisplatin prodrug Pt (IV) to form Pt-FMO, which was modified with PEG to increase colloidal stability (
Biomimetic magnetic NPs coated with platelets can make the cancer cells sensitize to ferroptosis, generate mild immunogenicity, and improve the response rate of noninflammatory tumors to immunotherapy (
FIGURE 8

Synthesis scheme and mechanism of the magnetosome for FBT/immunomodulation in cancer. Adapted from Zhang et al., (2019) Copyright @ 2019 (ACS).
IONPs can also be loaded onto or into different nanomaterials. Superparamagnetic IONPs (SPIONPs) are considered excellent carriers to deliver nucleic acid and drug because of the controllable properties, outstanding stability, and easy modification. The sorafenib and ultrasmall SPIONPs (approximately 8.5 nm) were, respectively, loaded onto the mesopores of mesoporous PDA (MDPA) NPs and onto the surface of the MDPA NPs to form sorafenib@MPDA-SPIONP (
A nanosystem containing Fe3O4 and chlorin E6 (Ce6) was designed for the synergistic cancer therapy (
The IO-hydroxide (IOOH) nanospindles have been used as MRI contrast agents for cancer diagnosis; thus, a biocompatible H2S-responsive IOOH nanospindle for colon cancer is developed (
3.1.5 Iron-Containing Organic Transition Metal Compound–Based Nanomaterials
Ferrocene (Fc) is a stable organic transition metal compound that can produce ROS under physiological condition, and thus, is a potential adjuvant to enhance the therapeutic effect of chemotherapy drugs (Patra and Gasser, 2017). As known to all, the iron in Fc is Fe2+, (Xu et al., 2013) making it an ideal exogenous Fe2+ to induce ferroptosis. For example, sequential release of the NPs based on the presence of heparinase was reported; these NPs were modified with β-cyclodextrin and coloaded with DOX, Fc, and TGF-β receptor inhibitor SB431542 (Figure 9) (Zhang et al., 2021). DOX and Fc could increase the intracellular ROS levels to activate ferroptosis and apoptosis and reduce MMP-9 expression to enhance FBT in the tumor. SB431542 could be gradually released due to the heparanase-driven nature, which prevented the tumor metastasis via modulating the TME, decreasing tumor-associated fibroblast activation, and reducing TGF-β secretion. Furthermore, ferroptosis-induced antitumor immune response enhanced the tumor therapy. A CDT nanomaterial, RSL3@COF–Fc, was fabricated by the covalent organic framework (COF), Fc, and RSL3 (Zhou et al., 2021). The RSL3@COF–Fc could promote the production of •OH in cancer cells, and the repair mechanism under oxidative stress was attenuated by the irreversible inhibition of the GPX4. Finally, these two ways synergistically resulted in massive LPO accumulation.
FIGURE 9

(A) Synthesis scheme of NLC/H (DOX + Fc + SB431542) NPs. (B) Mechanism of NLC/H (DOX + Fc + SB431542) NPs for breast cancer therapy. Adapted from Zhang et al., (2021) Copyright @ 2021 (Elsevier).
A multifunctional carbon monoxide (CO)/thermo/chemotherapy nanoplatform comprises the mesoporous carbon NPs (MCNPs) as NIR-responsive drug carriers and DOX and hydrophobic iron carbonyl (FeCO) as thermosensitive CO prodrug (Yao et al., 2019). The nanoplatform produced sufficient heat upon NIR illumination to trigger the release of CO and DOX in the acidic TME. The CO successfully increased the sensitivity of the cancer cells to chemotherapeutics through the ferroptosis pathway. Subsequently, the FeCO-DOX@MCNP nanoplatform showed high therapeutic efficacy in combination with chemotherapy, PTT, and gas therapy both in vitro and in vivo.
3.1.6 Ferritin-Based Nanomaterials
Ferritin is an iron-sequestering protein that plays key roles in iron delivery, cell proliferation, and immunosuppression (Shi et al., 2021). The novel protein-based nanomaterial BCFe@sorafenib was developed by covalently crosslinking the Ce6-conjugated bovine serum albumin (BSA) and ferritin, together with the sorafenib encapsulated inside the protein shell (Wang et al., 2021). Under hypoxic condition, the BCFe@sorafenib could be degraded to release more Ce6 after light irradiation, whereas the ferritin released Fe3+ to consume GSH to produce more ROS. In addition, the released sorafenib destroyed the tumor’s antioxidative defense to enhance oxidative damage. In addition, a novel carrier-free nanodrug NFER containing ferritin, erastin, and rapamycin was prepared by using an emulsification technique (
3.1.7 Iron‐Based Up‐Conversion (UC) Nanomaterials
The photic UC is achieved by the UCNPs that contain lanthanide or actinide metals. The Fe3+-containing UCNP and DOX were capsulated into the oxidized starch-based gel NPs (Figure 10) (
FIGURE 10

(A) Schematic illustration of DGU:Fe/DOX NPs. (B) Mechanism of DGU:Fe/DOX NPs for cancer therapy. Adapted from
3.2 Iron-Free Nanomaterials
In addition to the iron-contained nanomaterials, there are several types of nanomaterials without iron that could induce ferroptosis of the cancer cells.
3.2.1 Manganese-Based Nanomaterials
A versatile porphyrin-based manganese MOF (Mn-MOF) nanoplatform exhibited high catalase activity for the conversion of H2O2 to O2, thus decreasing the intracellular GSH content and GPX4 activity and inhibiting the tumor growth and metastasis via inducing SDT and FBT (Figure 11) (Xu, Q. et al., 2021). In addition, the Mn-MOF efficiently reshaped the tumor immune microenvironment upon US treatment by increasing the activated CD8+ T cells and matured dendritic cells (DCs) and decreasing the myeloid-derived suppressor cells in tumor tissue. The arginine-rich manganese silicate nanobubbles (AMSNs) could be synthesized through a one-pot method with highly efficient GSH depletion (Wang et al., 2018). The arginine component provides ideal dispersibility, biocompatibility, and tumor-targeting capacity. Compared with the traditional NPs, the arginine-based ultrathin surface coating and nanobubble structure significantly improved the ability of the AMSNs to consume GSH, which led to GPX4 inactivation. In addition, the degradation of AMSNs led to the corelease of Mn2+ and DOX, which resulted in T1-weighted MRI and on-demand chemotherapeutic drug release for the synergistic cancer therapy. In addition, manganese-doped MSNPs (MMSNPs) possess the manganese–oxygen bonds that could consume GSH rapidly (Tang et al., 2019). MMSNPs were modified with FA-PFG and loaded with dihydroartemisinin (DHA) to form an innovative nanomaterial (
FIGURE 11

Schematic illustration of AMSNs/DOX for cancer therapy. Adapted from Wang et al., (2018) Copyright @ 2018 (ACS).
3.2.2 Manganese Oxide–Based Nanomaterials
The MnO2@HMCu2−xS nanocomposites (HMCMs) for tumor ablation were reported (
FIGURE 12

Schematic illustration of MnOx-OVA/tumor cell fragment (TF) nanovaccines for MRI-/PAI-induced cancer immunotherapy. Adapted from
3.2.3 Gold-Based Nanomaterials
The salinomycin that conjugated with the Au NPs was used to kill breast cancer stem cells that were derived from CD24low/CD44high subpopulation (Zhao et al., 2019). The salinomycin-AuNPs exhibited higher ability to induce ferroptosis via higher iron accumulation and GPX4 inactivation. Pt-decorated Au nanostars were presented as novel nanoprodrugs for FBT against MDR tumors (Del Valle et al., 2020). Upon NIR light irradiation, Pt and Au were released, which resulted in GSH depletion, GPX4 inactivation, and accumulation of lipid hydroperoxides. The NIR light-activation of the prodrugs showed efficacy of FBT against tumors without long-term side effects in vivo.
3.2.4 Photosensitizer-Based Nanomaterials
The Ce6 and erastin could be self-assembled to form a novel nanodrug via hydrogen bonding and π–π interactions (Zhu et al., 2019). The erastin could induce accumulation of LPO via the Fenton reaction. Under the light irradiation, the generation of O2 ensured efficient photochemical reactions to produce ROS. The imidazole ligand containing disulfide and Zn2+ was coordinated to form an MOF nanocarrier for Ce6 loading. Regardless of the light irradiation, nanocarriers loaded with Ce6 induced GSH depletion through the disulfide−thiol exchange reaction in 4T1 tumor cells (Meng et al., 2019). In the 4T1 tumor–bearing mouse model, the nanomaterials showed excellent in vivo tumor growth inhibition, and the animal survival rate was improved. However, the combined use of iron chelating agents weakened the antitumor ability of the nanocarrier because it restrained ferroptosis.
The nanoactivator was assembled by DOX, TA, and IR820. The endogenous iron stored in the endo-lysosome was fully utilized. In addition, the ferroptosis and its related oxidative stress were induced by an artificial intracellular positive feedback loop (Figure 13) (Xiong et al., 2021). Interestingly, this process could also promote the ICD-related immunotherapy through the endoplasmic reticulum stress. After the laser treatment, the intracellular ROS in cells could be effectively distributed in the lysosomes and endoplasmic reticulum to promote FBT and immunotherapy, respectively.
FIGURE 13

(A) Synthesis scheme of DAR. (B) Mechanism of DAR for cancer therapy. (C) Combined therapy mechanisms of DAR. Adapted from Xiong et al., (2021) Copyright @ 2021 (Elsevier).
3.2.5 RSL3-Loaded Nanomaterials
RSL3 can be loaded onto the non-iron nanomaterials. The ionizable block copolymer and phenylboronate ester (PBE) were integrated by covalent bonds to prepare a platform for RSL-3 delivery (Figure 14) (Song et al., 2021). At neutral pH, the NPs could stably embed RSL-3 in the hydrophobic core through π–π interaction with the PBE groups and release the payload in the endogenous vesicles through acidity-triggered cleavage of dynamic covalent bonds of PBE. In addition, the NPs could perform acid-activatable PDT by ionizing nuclear protonation and significantly recruiting tumor infiltrating T lymphocytes to secrete IFN-γ, and thus make the B16–F10 melanoma tumor sensitive to RSL-3–induced ferroptosis. The maltose ligand and azobenzene were linked by PEG and self-assembled to load RSL3, yielding Malt-PEG-Abz@RSL3 (
FIGURE 14

(A) Synthesis scheme of NPs. (B) Schematic illustration of the mechanism. Adapted from Song et al., (2021) Copyright @ 2021 (Wiley).
3.2.6 UC Nanomaterials
The core-shell UCNPs (NaGdF4:20%Yb, 0.5%Tm3+@NaGdF4) could absorb NIR light and emit UV to transfer azobenzene combretastatin A4 (azobenzene-CA4) to activate azobenzene-CA4, while UV light could induce reduction of intracellular Fe3+ to Fe2+ (Figure 15) (Zhu et al., 2020). Upon NIR irradiation, the viability of the triple-negative breast cancer cells treated with nanocarriers loaded with azobenzene-CA4 evidently decreased. Another UCNP (NaYF4:20%Yb, 2%Er@NaYF4) was coated by the MS and liposome to encapsulate Ce6 and buthionine sulfoximine (BSO) (
FIGURE 15

Synthesis scheme and mechanism of UCNP@LP (Azo-CA4). Adapted from Zhu et al., (2020) Copyright @ 2020 (ACS).
4 Conclusions and Future Perspectives
With the development of life sciences and medicine, the genetic and molecular mechanisms of cancer have been extensively investigated by researchers worldwide. Many countries have invested considerable material and financial resources in this endeavor. However, tumorigenesis, progression, metastasis, recurrence, and death caused by cancer are still poorly understood because of the tumor complexity including diverse molecular types and heterogeneity; thus, the therapeutic outcomes remain unsatisfactory. Therefore, finding novel therapeutic strategies to solve the human cancer issue has become the most significant problem that needs to be urgently addressed to protect human health. Ferroptosis, termed in 2012, has been widely researched concerning the cellular mechanisms and signaling pathways in cancers. As a novel type of cell death, ferroptosis has great potential as a new cancer therapy, and several ferroptosis-inducing small molecules (such as erastin, sorafenib, sulfasalazine, altretamine, and artemisinin) and various genes related to ferroptosis (e.g., xCT, GPX4, p53, NQO1, and NOX) have been discovered by the researchers. Nonetheless, there are also some disadvantages: 1) there are potential adverse effects of ferroptosis on normal tissues due to the low specificity of small-molecule compounds; 2) small-molecule compounds have short half-lives in blood and low accumulation at tumor sites because of rapid renal clearance; 3) gene-based FBT for cancer is essentially one type of gene therapy, which might bring controversy at ethics and law (Shen et al., 2018). Hence, although FBT based on small molecules and genes is promising, significant research is required before it can be applied clinically.
With the rapid development of nanomedicine, numerous ferroptosis-inducing nanomaterials have been developed by chemists, pharmacists, and material scientists. The adverse effects on normal tissues could be decreased because of the precise targetability of the nanomaterials to tumor sites, and the nanomaterials possess long circulating half-lives in the blood, which enhances the accumulation of the nanomaterials at tumor sites. The ferroptosis-based nanomaterials could be triggered by several factors (such as light, US, and TME) to induce the release of metal irons, metal oxides, or drugs to induce or enhance ferroptosis. The FBT of cancer could integrate with different models of imaging guidance (such as US imaging, PAI, and MRI) and combine with diverse cancer therapies (such as CDT, SDT, PDT, PTT, and immunotherapy). In this review, we roughly divide the reported ferroptosis-based nanomaterials into two types: iron-contained nanomaterials and iron-free nanomaterials. The former induces ferroptosis via increasing the external iron to enhance the Fenton reaction; meanwhile, the latter induces ferroptosis via GSH depletion, GPX4 inactivation, or increasing intracellular ROS, which leads to the prospective that it is difficult for the iron-free nanomaterials to achieve satisfactory treatment. Therefore, iron-contained nanomaterials might be more promising than iron-free nanomaterials because the latter is limited by utilizing the intracellular restricted iron to produce ROS via the Fenton reaction.
Undoubtedly, in the future, a mass of ferroptosis-based nanomaterials will be investigated for cancer therapy. The future research might focus on the following aspects: 1) more ferroptosis small-molecular compounds will be discovered and synthesized, and subsequently they might be utilized to be encapsulated into the iron-contained nanomaterials for FBT; 2) the siRNAs targeting ferroptosis-related genes (e.g., p53, GPX4, and xCT) might be used to enhance the effect of FBT; 3) the ferroptosis-based nanomaterials might combine with radiotherapy to make tumor sensitized to radiation; 4) more nanomedical research about the combination treatment of FBT and immunotherapy needs to be brought to the forefront because of its great clinical application prospects. Meanwhile, multiple issues should be taken into consideration in the rational design of the nanomaterials based on ferroptosis in the future, such as safety and feasibility of clinical application, possible toxicity, and industrial feasibility.
Statements
Author contributions
ZS, JZ, WT, and CS designed and conceptualized the review. All authors contributed to the writing of the manuscript.
Funding
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81972373), the Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province of China (No.2019J01016), the funding of the Science and Technology Planned Project of Medical and Health of Xiamen City (No. 3502Z20194038), The Scientific Research Foundation for Advanced Talents of Xiang’an Hospital of Xiamen University (No. PM201809170001), and the Medical Leading Talents of Xiamen City.
Acknowledgments
ZS would like to thank his wife Meiying Huang and his parents who have given him strong spiritual and financial support during his hard times. Thanks to editor and typesetter for their kind help.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Publisher’s note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors, and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
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Summary
Keywords
cancer therapy, ferroptosis, nanomaterial, ferroptosis inducers, reactive oxygen species
Citation
Shi Z, Zheng J, Tang W, Bai Y, Zhang L, Xuan Z, Sun H and Shao C (2022) Multifunctional Nanomaterials for Ferroptotic Cancer Therapy. Front. Chem. 10:868630. doi: 10.3389/fchem.2022.868630
Received
03 February 2022
Accepted
02 March 2022
Published
24 March 2022
Volume
10 - 2022
Edited by
Yan Zhang, University of Jinan, China
Reviewed by
Xin Pang, First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, China
Lisi Xie, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, China
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© 2022 Shi, Zheng, Tang, Bai, Zhang, Xuan, Sun and Shao.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Huimin Sun, hmsun@xah.xmu.edu.cn; Chen Shao, cshao@xah.xmu.edu.cn
† These authors have contributed equally to this work
This article was submitted to Analytical Chemistry, a section of the journal Frontiers in Chemistry
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