Lyophilized tumour cell-loaded 10B-doped carbon dots for simultaneous boron neutron capture therapy and enhancement of antitumor immunity of prostate cancer†

¹⁰B agents are critical components in the application of boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) for tumor treatment. The development of a multi-functional ¹⁰B agent plays an important role in the application of BNCT. This study presents a pioneering lyophilized-tumour-cell-based approach for the enhanced accumulation of ¹⁰B-doped carbon dots (¹⁰B-CDs) within tumour tissue, irradiating thermal neutrons to treat prostate cancer. In this platform, lyophilized RM-1 cells function as both tumor cell antigens and delivery vehicles for ¹⁰B-CDs. This design facilitates the co-delivery of tumor antigens and ¹⁰B, thereby changing the immune status from “cold” to “hot” and prolonging the retention time of the ¹⁰B-CDs in vivo. Prostate cancer cells killed by BNCT mediated by this ¹⁰B agent not only damage the DNA, but ferroptosis is also an underlying mechanism. This powerful binary co-delivery system offers a novel strategy for combining BNCT with immunotherapy in the treatment of prostate cancer, providing a promising approach for BNCT-based combination immunotherapy.