Chem
ArticleSynergistic Combination of Calcium and Citrate in Mesoporous Nanoparticles Targets Pleural Tumors
The Bigger Picture
Pleural tumors are often highly aggressive and rapidly growing. Their proximity to the lung requires highly selective anticancer agents to avoid adverse effects. Such a selective anticancer agent is an urgent, yet unmet clinical need. A promising strategy to realize this selectivity may be based on a material that degrades selectively in cancer cells and releases high amounts of ions into these cells. Calcium and citrate are ions that are generally nontoxic, but they can induce cell death when released into a cell at high concentrations. However, triggering their efficient release selectively in cancer cells has not been achieved yet. Here, we developed mesoporous, amorphous calcium-phosphate citrate nanoparticles. These features are key to their intracellular degradation, allowing for ion release and selective toxicity toward cancer cells. Successful mouse experiments show their potential to meet the clinical need for a therapeutic against pleural tumors.