Multi-Stage Energy Conversion in Covalent Organic Frameworks for Electrogenesis Boosted Immunotherapy

Abstract

Electrical energy enables tumor therapy by generating reactive oxygen species (ROS); however, its clinical translation remains hindered by the reliance on external electrodes and the biocompatibility challenges of inorganic sensitizers. Here, covalent organic frameworks (COFs)-based energy-conversion platform termed as Py-ttTII@PEG, is engineered for non-invasive photo-triggered electrocatalysis augmented immunotherapy. The donor-acceptor-donor (D-A-D) building block, composed of electron-rich thienoisoindigo, electron-deficient thienothiophene, and tetradentate counterpart, pyrene tetraaniline (Py(NH₂)₄), is used to construct Py-ttTII@PEG. Under NIR-II laser irradiation, Py-ttTII@PEG NPs （nanoparticles） produce heat to ablate tumors, and multiple reactive oxygen species via triggered electrocatalysis to damage heat shock proteins and augment the therapeutic effect. Significantly, the cascade effects activate robust immunogenic cell death. In vivo studies reveal its potent anti-tumor effectiveness and the stimulation of an effective immune response under NIR-II laser irradiation, which suppresses the progression of distant tumors and lung metastasis. Additionally, RNA sequencing analysis indicate that Py-ttTII@PEG NPs induce the activation of immune-related pathways and the enrichment of regulatory genes in cell death- and immune-related pathways under NIR-II laser exposure. Thus, this work provides a feasible strategy by tightly coupling energy conversion to establishes an in vivo pyroelectricity generator for improving the therapeutic efficacy of immunotherapy against tumor metastasis.

Keywords: covalent organic frameworks; immunogenic cell death; photo‐triggered electrogenesis; reactive oxygen species; tumor therapy.