A Living Material Constructed from Stem Cells for Tumor‐Tropic Oncotherapy with Real‐Time Imaging

Progress in targeted drug delivery has changed the landscape of tumor therapy. An efficient drug delivery system with real-time monitoring will boost the therapeutic effect. This study reports a novel living material constructed from living stem cells, nanocarriers, and drugs to achieve targeted delivery with real-time monitoring. The nanocarriers of mesoporous silica-coated super-paramagnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles (Fe3O4@MSNPs) are connected to human adipose-derived stem cells (hADSCs) by anti-CD44 antibody bioconjugation. The inherent tumor tropism of hADSCs provides targeting ability. Drug delivery can be performed without endocytosis for drug loading based on antibody bioconjugation and high drug loading. This method also reduces the drug effect on hADSCs and results in long troop migration toward tumors for doxorubicin delivery. Successful doxorubicin delivery induces the apoptosis of Michigan Cancer Foundation-7 (MCF-7) tumor cells. Magnetic resonance imaging of super-paramagnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles shows the real-time monitoring ability of the proposed living material, which can confirm targeted drug delivery. This study provides a living material design strategy for oncotherapy.