Intravesical delivery of mucoadhesive and tumor-selective-penetrating nanozymes for enhancing the PDT of bladder cancer - Research paper summary

Sep 23, 2026

Uploaded by Adam

Intravesical photodynamic therapy (PDT) is promising for bladder cancer, but its effectiveness is limited by weak muco-adhesion, poor mucosal penetration, insufficient tumor targeting, and intratumoral oxygen depletion. A drug delivery system is proposed using cerium oxide (CeO2) nanozymes as the core, polyarginine R11 peptides as tumor-targeting ligands, and indocyanine green (ICG) as photosensitizers assembled on the particle surface. ICG@R11-CeO2 nanoparticles enhance mucoadhesive, mucus-penetrating, and tumor-targeting behavior while alleviating hypoxia, increasing PDT sensitivity. In orthotopic bladder cancer models, intravesical PDT achieved complete tumor inhibition, supporting clinical translation potential.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages14

Reading Time35 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Bladder cancer and intravesical therapy background

Limitations of current intravesical photodynamic therapy

Research approach

Design of ICG@R11-CeO2 nanozyme platform

Intended mechanisms: adhesion, penetration, tumor targeting, hypoxia relief

Abstract highlights

Expected outcomes in orthotopic bladder cancer models

Liu et al. Journal of Nanobiotechnology (2025) 23:554 [https://doi.org/10.1186/s12951-025-03594-6](https://doi.org/10.1186/s12951-025-03594-6) Journal of Nanobiotechnology RESEARCH Open Access Intravesical delivery of mucoadhesive and tumor-selective-penetrating nanozymes for enhancing the PDT of bladder cancer Yang Liu 1,2†, Wentao Xu3†, Xiaowen Qin4,5†, Jiajia Zheng3,6, Bin Zheng4, Li Sun4, Wenyan Zuo4, Dingyi Liu4, Zhenghong Liu4, Yixuan Mou4, HengWang4, Qi Zhang4, Jun Chen3*, Pu Zhang4* and Dahong Zhang 1,4* Abstract Intravesical photodynamic therapy (PDT) emerges as a promising modality for bladder cancer treatment, yet its efficacy is often curtailed by weak muco-adhesion, poor muco-penetration, low tumor-targeting and intratumoral oxygen scarcity. In this work, we introduce a drug delivery system leveraging cerium oxide (CeO2) nanozymes as the core, polyarginine peptides R11 as the tumor-targeting ligands, and indocyanine green (ICG) asthe photosensitizers, with the latter two components assembled on the particle surface. Intravesical ICG@R11-CeO2 nanoparticles displayed enhanced mucoadhesive, mucus-penetrating and tumor-targeting properties, and effectively mitigated the hypoxia threat in the tumor microenvironment to improve the PDT sensitivity. Remarkably, the intravesical PDT via ICG@R11-CeO2 nanoparticles achieved complete tumor inhibition in orthotopic bladder cancer models, offering strong evidence on its clinical translational potential. Keywords Bladder Cancer, Intravesical therapy, Nanozyme, Photodynamic therapy †Yang Liu, Wentao Xu and Xiaowen Qin contributed equally to this work. *Correspondence: Jun Chen[chenjun@hmc.edu.cn](chenjun@hmc.edu.cn)[ ](chenjun@hmc.edu.cn)Pu Zhang [zhangpuxjtuer@163.com](zhangpuxjtuer@163.com)[ ](zhangpuxjtuer@163.com)Dahong Zhang [zppurology@163.com](zppurology@163.com) 1Suzhou Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China 2Cancer Center, Department of Ultrasound Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital (Affiliated People’s Hospital), Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China 3Cancer Center, Department of Interventional Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital (Affiliated People’s Hospital), Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China 4Urology & Nephrology Center, Department of Urology, Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital (Affiliated People’s Hospital), Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China 5Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, The National Key Discipline, School of Public Health, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China 6College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China Introduction Bladder cancer (BCa) ranks as the second most prevalent malignancy in the urinary system [1], and the nonmuscle invasive type (NMIBC) constitutes approximately 75% of all initial diagnoses [1]– [2]. The standard clinical treatment for NMIBC is transurethral resection of bladder tumors (TURBT), complemented by intravesical therapy (IT). Despite this, the efficacy of IT is suboptimal, as indicated by the recurrence rate up to as much as 78% post IT [2]. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has emerged as a promising strategy for intravesical use to combat BCa, particularly due to its low toxicity and potential for repeated applications. PDT involves the topical administration of photosensitizers (PS) at first and local laser irradiation afterwards, consequently generating cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) to kill tumor cells and achieving a complete remission rate of 68% in patients with © The Author(s) 2025. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative C

FAQs

Why is intravesical PDT challenging for bladder cancer treatment?

Its efficacy is often reduced by weak muco-adhesion, limited mucosal penetration, poor tumor targeting, and oxygen scarcity within the tumor microenvironment.

What components make up the proposed delivery system?

The system uses CeO2 nanozymes as a catalytic core, polyarginine R11 peptides as tumor-targeting ligands, and indocyanine green (ICG) as photosensitizers assembled on the nanoparticle surface.

How does ICG@R11-CeO2 improve PDT performance in bladder cancer models?

It enhances mucoadhesive and mucus-penetrating properties, strengthens tumor targeting, mitigates tumor hypoxia, and thereby improves PDT sensitivity, leading to complete tumor inhibition in orthotopic models.

Sep 23, 2026

Uploaded by Adam