Hypoxia-responsive and uperconversion nanoparticles modified RBC micro-vehicles fabrication for oxygen delivery and chemotherapy enhancement

Solid tumor cells in hypoxic regions resist chemotherapy treatment with conventional antitumor drugs (such as paclitaxel, PTX), resulting from inadequate O2 attenuate intracellular generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and upregulate multidrug resistance protein expression. Hyperbaric O2 therapy concentrates on improving O2 delivery to the hypoxia tumor area, thereby enhancing the sensitivity of cancer cells to chemotherapy drugs. However, the implement of that therapy often elicits immune response or potentiates the toxicity of the drugs toward normal cells. In this work, we successfully fabricated RBC based micro-vehicles for hypoxia activated O2 precise delivery under 980-nm laser irradiation. Interestingly, the following chemotherapy of PTX for ovarian tumor was significantly enhanced owing to hypoxia tumor microenvironment alleviating. Meanwhile, the RBC based micro-vehicles have low side tissue effect, superior bio-compatibility, ultra-low immune response. Above all, RBC-based drug delivery system hold a fascinating perspective toward O2 delivery for chemotherapy enhancement in other clinical solid malignancies.