Gas Therapy Strategies in Nanomedicine for Cancer Treatment

Gas therapy harnesses the bioactive properties of small gaseous molecules—such as hydrogen, carbon monoxide, nitric oxide, sulfur dioxide and oxygen—to induce selective cytotoxicity, modulate the tumour microenvironment and stimulate antitumour immune responses. The principal challenge of systemic gas administration lies in nonspecific distribution, rapid diffusion and potential off-target toxicity. Nanomedicine addresses these limitations by encapsulating gas prodrugs or utilising catalytic nanomaterials that generate therapeutic gases in situ under external or intrinsic stimuli. Stimuli-responsive delivery systems enable controlled release at the tumour site in response to pH, redox potential, light or ionising radiation, thus maximising local efficacy while minimising systemic exposure. Moreover, combining gas therapy with photothermal, photodynamic, chemodynamic or immunotherapeutic modalities has emerged as an effective strategy to overcome hypoxia, reverse immunosuppression and eradicate resistant cancer stem cells. Advances in engineering multifunctional nanoplatforms have paved the way for image-guided, on-demand gas generation and synergistic multimodal interventions, offering new avenues toward clinical translation of gas-based oncology therapies.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Innovative implantable galvanic cells constructed from magnesium rods with platinum decoration have been shown to generate hydrogen continuously within tumours, leading to mitochondrial dysfunction, redox imbalance and local pH neutralisation that together inhibit tumour growth in murine models and patient-derived xenografts. A generic library of hollow mesoporous organosilica nanoparticles has been developed for oxygen-independent, X-ray-activated radiodynamic therapy. Upon X-ray irradiation, peroxy bonds within co-loaded peroxide prodrugs cleave to release hydroxyl radicals and carbon monoxide sequentially, achieving potent cytotoxicity under both normoxic and hypoxic conditions. In addition, systematic insights drawn from industrial catalysis have informed the rational design of nanocatalysts for medical applications, guiding the selection of catalytic reactions and materials that efficiently generate therapeutic gases under physiological and external stimuli, and thereby advancing the field of nanocatalytic medicine.

Gas Therapy Strategies in Nanomedicine for Cancer Treatment publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in gas therapy strategies in nanomedicine for cancer treatment across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Nanomedicine: The application of nanoscale materials and devices to diagnose, monitor and treat disease at the molecular level.

Prodrug: An inert precursor that undergoes chemical or enzymatic transformation in vivo to release an active therapeutic agent.

Stimuli-responsive delivery system: A formulation engineered to release its cargo in response to specific physical or biochemical triggers.

Tumour microenvironment: The complex milieu surrounding cancer cells, including immune cells, stromal elements, vasculature and biochemical factors that influence tumour progression and therapy response.

Photothermal therapy: A treatment modality wherein light-absorbing agents convert near-infrared radiation into heat to induce tumour cell death.

References

1. Magnesium galvanic cells produce hydrogen and modulate the tumor microenvironment to inhibit cancer growth. Nature Communications (2022).
2. Generic synthesis of small-sized hollow mesoporous organosilica nanoparticles for oxygen-independent X-ray-activated synergistic therapy. Nature Communications (2019).
3. Critical learning from industrial catalysis for nanocatalytic medicine. Nature Communications (2024).
4. Tumor microenvironment‐responsive delivery nanosystems reverse immunosuppression for enhanced CO gas/immunotherapy. Exploration (2023).
5. Nanotechnology based gas delivery system: a “green” strategy for cancer diagnosis and treatment. Theranostics (2024).
6. Photothermal‐Triggered Sulfur Oxide Gas Therapy Augments Type I Photodynamic Therapy for Potentiating Cancer Stem Cell Ablation and Inhibiting Radioresistant Tumor Recurrence. Advanced Science (2023).