Vacancy-Rich Bismuth-Based Nanosheets for Mitochondrial Destruction via CO Poisoning, Ca Dyshomeostasis, and Oxidative Damage.

Mitochondria are core regulators of tumor cell homeostasis, and their damage has become an arresting therapeutic modality against cancer. Despite the development of many mitochondrial-targeted pharmaceutical agents, the exploration of more powerful and multifunctional medications is still underway. Herein, oxygen vacancy-rich BiO wrapped with CaCO (named BiO@CaCO/PEG, BCP) is developed for full-fledged attack on mitochondrial function. After endocytosis of BCP by tumor cells, the CaCO shell can be decomposed in the acidic lysosomal compartment, leading to immediate Ca release and CO production in the cytoplasm. Near-infrared irradiation enhances the adsorption of CO onto BiO defects, which enables highly efficient photocatalysis of CO-to-CO. Meanwhile, such BiO nanosheets possess catalase-, peroxidase- and oxidase-like catalytic activities under acidic pH conditions, allowing hypoxia relief and the accumulation of diverse reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the tumor microenvironment. Ca overload-induced ion dyshomeostasis, CO-mediated respiratory chain poisoning, ROS-triggered oxidative stress aggravation, and cytosolic hyperoxia can cause severe mitochondrial disorders, which further lead to type I cell death in carcinoma. Not only does BCP cause irreversible apoptosis, but immunogenic cell death is simultaneously triggered to activate antitumor immunity for metastasis inhibition. Collectively, this platform promises high benefits in malignant tumor therapy and may expand the medical applications of bismuth-based nanoagents.