Scientists at the University of Technology Sydney, Harvard, and Henan universities have created a double-punch nanozyme platform that could give glioblastoma treatment a powerful upgrade, illuminating hidden tumor cells during surgery and destroying microscopic cancer left behind afterward.
Glioblastoma is the most aggressive brain cancer, with a five-year survival rate of only about 7 percent. Cancer cells spread into nearby brain tissue, making complete surgical removal extremely challenging, and the blood-brain barrier restricts how effectively drugs and radiotherapy can reach the tumor.
The new platform, published in Science Translational Medicine, uses a single system to address both problems. At the center is an extremely thin two-dimensional sheet covered with individual platinum atoms placed one at a time using a method adapted from semiconductor manufacturing. Both functions are activated by the same near-infrared light.
During surgery, the nanoparticle functions as a highly sensitive imaging agent. A fluorescent dye glows under near-infrared light, allowing surgeons to see individual tumor cell clusters as small as 44 micrometers, a resolution beyond current clinical imaging tools. A targeting molecule helps the material cross the blood-brain barrier.
After the visible tumor is removed, the same material is administered into the surgical cavity and reactivated for postoperative phototherapy. The platinum atoms convert the tumor's own hydrogen peroxide into oxygen, counteracting the low-oxygen environment that shields cancer cells, while light generates heat and reactive molecules that destroy microscopic remnants.
In mouse models, every treated mouse was alive at 60 days, compared with a median survival of 42 days for surgery alone. No neurological or motor impairments were detected.
We have engineered a single material that does two jobs in sequence, said Dr. Bingyang Shi of UTS. The researchers caution this is still animal research: the results are very encouraging, but this is still early-stage research carried out in mouse models, not in people.
