CUHK team develops phage-based nanofibre technology to enhance photodynamic cancer therapy

A Chinese University of Hong Kong team led by Professor Mao Chuanbin built engineered bacteriophages carrying a tumour-targeting peptide, platinum nanozymes that turn hydrogen peroxide into oxygen inside tumours, and the light-activated drug Indocyanine Green, to overcome the low oxygen that limits photodynamic therapy. In mice with MCF-7 breast tumours, 40% of the animals were cancer-free after 16 days of treatment; the findings were published in Advanced Materials.