Magneto-Fluorescent Mn-Doped CD@ZIF-8@Kappa Carrageenan Biohydrogel-A Dual Model Therapeutic and Diagnostic Agent for Targeted Drug Delivery and Cancer Therapy.

Authors

Sayani Maiti, Debjit Maity, Agnishwar Girigoswami, Mahitosh Mandal, Narayan Chandra Das, Susanta Banerjee

Published in

ACS applied bio materials. Volume 9. Issue 16. Pages 7650-7670. Aug 17, 2026.

Abstract

Manganese-based nanomaterials have emerged as highly promising candidates for cancer theranostic owing to their unique multifunctional capabilities in chemodynamic therapy, immune regulation, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Herein, we present a biodegradable and multifunctional nanotherapeutic platform constructed by encapsulating manganese-doped carbon dots (MnCDs) within the zinc-based metal-organic framework (MOF)-ZIF-8 and further embedding the composite into a K-Carrageenan (K-Car) biopolymeric hydrogel matrix, referred to as the MnCD@ZIF-8@K-Car gel. This nanoplatform was designed for the efficient encapsulation of the anticancer drug 5-fluorouracil (5 FU) and exhibited a pronounced pH-responsive drug release profile under tumor-mimicking acidic conditions. The MnCD@ZIF-8@K-Car system demonstrated intense blue fluorescence, enabling effective in vitro fluorescence imaging, and exhibited excellent T1-T2-weighted MRI contrast enhancement at low concentrations. Moreover, the nanocomposite catalyzed Fenton-like reactions with endogenous hydrogen peroxide in the microenvironment, producing highly reactive hydroxyl radicals that induce oxidative damage to intracellular biomolecules and suppress tumor cell proliferation. In addition, the ZIF-8 imparted notable bacteriostatic activity against Gram-negative Escherichia coli. Cellular internalization and cytotoxicity investigations revealed selective toxicity toward folate-receptor-overexpressing HeLa cells, while comparatively reduced cytotoxic effects were observed in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells and nonmalignant L929 fibroblasts. Overall, this multifunctional MnCD@ZIF-8@K-Car nanohydrogel integrates pH-responsive chemotherapy, chemodynamic therapy, biosensing, dual-modal imaging, and antibacterial functionality within a single system, highlighting its strong potential for advanced cancer theranostic applications.

PMID:
42606071
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 17 Aug 2026.

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