{"title":"金属掺杂B36N36纳米笼对β-lapachone递送的治疗潜力:密度泛函理论研究","authors":"Liyang Guo, Changqi Chen, Yafei Luo, Ke Zuo, Zhaoyuan Guo, Dianyong Tang","doi":"10.1016/j.comptc.2025.115508","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Natural products have long been a valuable source of anticancer leads. β-lapachone (β-Lap), a natural naphthoquinone compound, has been shown to be a promising anticancer candidate, although its low solubility and bioavailability limit its direct application in the clinic. Boron nitride nanocages have emerged as potential nanocarriers for drug delivery due to their high stability and biocompatibility. Here, we employed density functional theory (DFT) to evaluate the potential of transition metal (M = Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn)-doped nanocage B<sub>36</sub>N<sub>36</sub> as a drug carrier for β-Lap delivery. Our results indicated that β-Lap interacts with the B<img>N bonds of the nanocage through its C<img>O group(s). The incorporation of metals effectively enhances the β-Lap adsorption characteristics of B<sub>36</sub>N<sub>36</sub>. The encapsulation of metals inside B<sub>36</sub>N<sub>36</sub> was found to be the most stable structure, and the adsorption energy of β-Lap on metal-encapsulated B<sub>36</sub>N<sub>36</sub> (except for Zn) was found to be higher than that on B<sub>36</sub>N<sub>36</sub> in both aqueous and vacuum states. The electron density difference (EDD), spin density, and frontier molecular orbital theory demonstrate electron transfer from metal dopants to C<img>O groups of β-Lap, weakening C<img>O bonds while strengthening C<img>C bonds to stabilize the complex, with metal doping significantly enhancing adsorption efficiency. Atoms-in-molecules (AIM) theory further reveals that metal doping reinforces O<img>B bonds formed between β-Lap and B<sub>36</sub>N<sub>36</sub> into stronger coordination bonds. The independent gradient model based on Hirschfeld division (IGMH) analysis visually confirms the spatial distribution of interaction regions within the system. Overall, Zn-(1) and Fe-(3) doped B<sub>36</sub>N<sub>36</sub> are expected to be promising candidates for delivering β-Lap, with recovery times at body temperature of 26.44 s and 248 s, respectively. This work provides <em>in silico</em> support for further development of metal-doped B<sub>36</sub>N<sub>36</sub> nanocage as a drug delivery system.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":284,"journal":{"name":"Computational and Theoretical Chemistry","volume":"1254 ","pages":"Article 115508"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-09-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"Theranostic potential of metal-doped B36N36 nanocages for β-lapachone delivery: A density functional theory study\",\"authors\":\"Liyang Guo, Changqi Chen, Yafei Luo, Ke Zuo, Zhaoyuan Guo, Dianyong Tang\",\"doi\":\"10.1016/j.comptc.2025.115508\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"<div><div>Natural products have long been a valuable source of anticancer leads. β-lapachone (β-Lap), a natural naphthoquinone compound, has been shown to be a promising anticancer candidate, although its low solubility and bioavailability limit its direct application in the clinic. Boron nitride nanocages have emerged as potential nanocarriers for drug delivery due to their high stability and biocompatibility. Here, we employed density functional theory (DFT) to evaluate the potential of transition metal (M = Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn)-doped nanocage B<sub>36</sub>N<sub>36</sub> as a drug carrier for β-Lap delivery. Our results indicated that β-Lap interacts with the B<img>N bonds of the nanocage through its C<img>O group(s). The incorporation of metals effectively enhances the β-Lap adsorption characteristics of B<sub>36</sub>N<sub>36</sub>. The encapsulation of metals inside B<sub>36</sub>N<sub>36</sub> was found to be the most stable structure, and the adsorption energy of β-Lap on metal-encapsulated B<sub>36</sub>N<sub>36</sub> (except for Zn) was found to be higher than that on B<sub>36</sub>N<sub>36</sub> in both aqueous and vacuum states. The electron density difference (EDD), spin density, and frontier molecular orbital theory demonstrate electron transfer from metal dopants to C<img>O groups of β-Lap, weakening C<img>O bonds while strengthening C<img>C bonds to stabilize the complex, with metal doping significantly enhancing adsorption efficiency. Atoms-in-molecules (AIM) theory further reveals that metal doping reinforces O<img>B bonds formed between β-Lap and B<sub>36</sub>N<sub>36</sub> into stronger coordination bonds. The independent gradient model based on Hirschfeld division (IGMH) analysis visually confirms the spatial distribution of interaction regions within the system. Overall, Zn-(1) and Fe-(3) doped B<sub>36</sub>N<sub>36</sub> are expected to be promising candidates for delivering β-Lap, with recovery times at body temperature of 26.44 s and 248 s, respectively. This work provides <em>in silico</em> support for further development of metal-doped B<sub>36</sub>N<sub>36</sub> nanocage as a drug delivery system.</div></div>\",\"PeriodicalId\":284,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"Computational and Theoretical Chemistry\",\"volume\":\"1254 \",\"pages\":\"Article 115508\"},\"PeriodicalIF\":3.0000,\"publicationDate\":\"2025-09-24\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"\",\"citationCount\":\"0\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"Computational and Theoretical Chemistry\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"92\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2210271X2500444X\",\"RegionNum\":3,\"RegionCategory\":\"化学\",\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"\",\"PubModel\":\"\",\"JCR\":\"Q3\",\"JCRName\":\"CHEMISTRY, PHYSICAL\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Computational and Theoretical Chemistry","FirstCategoryId":"92","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2210271X2500444X","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"CHEMISTRY, PHYSICAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
Theranostic potential of metal-doped B36N36 nanocages for β-lapachone delivery: A density functional theory study
Natural products have long been a valuable source of anticancer leads. β-lapachone (β-Lap), a natural naphthoquinone compound, has been shown to be a promising anticancer candidate, although its low solubility and bioavailability limit its direct application in the clinic. Boron nitride nanocages have emerged as potential nanocarriers for drug delivery due to their high stability and biocompatibility. Here, we employed density functional theory (DFT) to evaluate the potential of transition metal (M = Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn)-doped nanocage B36N36 as a drug carrier for β-Lap delivery. Our results indicated that β-Lap interacts with the BN bonds of the nanocage through its CO group(s). The incorporation of metals effectively enhances the β-Lap adsorption characteristics of B36N36. The encapsulation of metals inside B36N36 was found to be the most stable structure, and the adsorption energy of β-Lap on metal-encapsulated B36N36 (except for Zn) was found to be higher than that on B36N36 in both aqueous and vacuum states. The electron density difference (EDD), spin density, and frontier molecular orbital theory demonstrate electron transfer from metal dopants to CO groups of β-Lap, weakening CO bonds while strengthening CC bonds to stabilize the complex, with metal doping significantly enhancing adsorption efficiency. Atoms-in-molecules (AIM) theory further reveals that metal doping reinforces OB bonds formed between β-Lap and B36N36 into stronger coordination bonds. The independent gradient model based on Hirschfeld division (IGMH) analysis visually confirms the spatial distribution of interaction regions within the system. Overall, Zn-(1) and Fe-(3) doped B36N36 are expected to be promising candidates for delivering β-Lap, with recovery times at body temperature of 26.44 s and 248 s, respectively. This work provides in silico support for further development of metal-doped B36N36 nanocage as a drug delivery system.
期刊介绍:
Computational and Theoretical Chemistry publishes high quality, original reports of significance in computational and theoretical chemistry including those that deal with problems of structure, properties, energetics, weak interactions, reaction mechanisms, catalysis, and reaction rates involving atoms, molecules, clusters, surfaces, and bulk matter.