Light-driven activation of metallic nanostructures in cancer therapy: from phototherapy to bioorthogonal catalysis.

Authors

Fatima Escudero-Amate, Jose I Garcia-Peiro, Jose L Hueso

Published in

Nanoscale. Oct 05, 2026. Epub Oct 05, 2026.

Abstract

Metallic nanostructures are versatile platforms for Nanomedicine due to their optical and catalytic properties. Their strong light absorption and efficient photothermal conversion have enabled photothermal therapy (PTT) to ablate tumors within the biologically transparent near-infrared windows. Recent advances in plasmonic engineering extend their role beyond heat generation, revealing their capacity to mediate photocatalytic transformations under physiologically relevant conditions. This dual modality enables the use of Au, Pt, Pd, and Ag, as well as less conventional Ru and Rh systems for applications spanning tumor microenvironment (TME) modulation to bioorthogonal prodrug activation. Strategies employing anisotropic nanostructures, metal-semiconductor hybrids and nanozyme cascades demonstrate that light can alleviate hypoxia, modulate metabolic pathways and achieve spatiotemporally controlled drug release. These advances suggest that photoactive metallic nanostructures can move beyond conventional PTT toward programmable, light-addressable cancer therapies.

PMID:
42831746
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 05 Oct 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.