Traditional therapeutic regimens are currently far from satisfactory, and the integration of biocompatible carbohydrate polymers and nanotechnologies with conventional therapeutics has become a focus of research in cancer therapy. Herein, A novel biocompatible and pH-responsive nanohydrogel composed of two functional polymeric chains was developed from cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA), or dopamine (DPA). The biological molecules PDA and ALA were respectively conjugated to CNC through the coordination of iron ions to form two functional polymeric chains (PDA/Fe@CNC and ALA/Fe@CNC). The PDA/Fe@CNC chain increased the adhesion of the nanohydrogels to cells, while the ALA/Fe@CNC chain significantly increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Furthermore, PTX molecules loaded into the nanohydrogels combined with ROS to efficiently kill tumor cells. The nanohydrogels displayed excellent cell affinity, high ROS yield (8.0-fold greater than that in control), and strong cytotoxicity (2.7 % of cell viability). The present study highlights the great potential of biocompatible natural polysaccharide-based materials for biomedical applications, and provides a new strategy for reducing the toxicity and side effects associated with traditional chemotherapy, demonstrating a novel antitumor treatment paradigm with high-efficiency but with only minor side effects.

当前，传统的治疗方案远未令人满意，并且生物相容性碳水化合物聚合物和纳米技术与常规治疗剂的整合已成为癌症治疗研究的重点。本文中，从纤维素纳米晶体（CNC）和5-氨基乙酰丙酸（ALA）或多巴胺（DPA）开发了由两条功能性聚合物链组成的新型生物相容性和pH响应纳米水凝胶。通过铁离子的配位将生物分子PDA和ALA分别与CNC结合，形成两条功能聚合物链（PDA / Fe @ CNC和ALA / Fe @ CNC）。PDA / Fe @ CNC链增加了纳米水凝胶对细胞的粘附力，而ALA / Fe @ CNC链则显着增加了活性氧（ROS）的产生。此外，负载到纳米水凝胶中的PTX分子与ROS结合在一起可以有效杀死肿瘤细胞。纳米水凝胶显示出优异的细胞亲和力，高ROS产量（比对照高8.0倍）和强大的细胞毒性（细胞活力的2.7％）。本研究突出了生物相容性天然多糖基材料在生物医学应用中的巨大潜力，并提供了减少传统化学疗法相关毒性和副作用的新策略，证明了一种新型的高效抗肿瘤治疗范例，但副作用很小效果。