image: Schematic illustration of the tribocatalysis mechanism based on FeOOH nanocatalysts for tumor therapy and FeOOH NRs-mediated STT for generating abundant ROS to induce the mitochondrial and DNA damage, promoting PANoptosome assembly and ultimately triggering PANoptosis (pyroptosis, apoptosis and necroptosis).
Credit: © 2026 Xinran Song et al.
The rapid integration of interdisciplinary fields is propelling the development of cutting edge, ultrasound-based therapeutic strategies. Sonosensitizers, as the core agents in conventional sonodynamic therapy, have garnered substantial attention; however, their clinical translation remains severely hampered by critical bottlenecks of biodegradability, required semiconductor characteristic, and long-term biosafety risks. This bottleneck underscores the pressing need for innovative sonosensitizers coupled with novel therapeutic mechanisms.
To overcome these limitations, a research team led by Professor Yu Chen from Shanghai University has developed iron oxyhydroxide nanorods as a high-performance ultrasound-activated sono-tribocatalytic sonosensitizer for efficient sono-tribocatalytic therapy (STT). This sono-tribocatalytic sonosensitizer demonstrates exceptional tribocatalytic efficacy in radical generation. It utilizes tribocatalytically generated surface charges to interact with oxygen and hydroxyl species, producing reactive oxygen species that drive redox reactions. The resulting accumulation of cytotoxic hydroxyl and superoxide radicals disrupts mitochondrial function and redox homeostasis in cancer cells. Furthermore, the STT paradigm for efficient cancer treatment can be extended to other application scope of sonocatalytic medicine to broader therapeutic applications.
Journal
Science Bulletin