LAUSR

Abstract The development of an efficient tumor-specific therapeutic approach, which functions against the primary tumor and also repairs the host immune system to eradicate distant tumors, remains a clinical issue. Herein, this study focuses on the use of polydopamine-coated gold nanoparticles (Au@PDA NPs) that showed excellent selectivity towards cancer cells. The Au@PDA NPs were prepared by a plasma synthesis method with a short reaction time and minimize the use of chemicals. Prominently, Au@PDA NPs not only exhibited high cellular internalization but also stimulated immunogenic cell death (ICD) in aggressive breast carcinoma cells. Moreover, it was observed that damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) were released by damaged cells together with the autophagy process after Au@PDA NPs exposure, which acted as endogenous danger signals to regulate the consequent immune response. This study highlights the novel mechanism of Au@PDA NPs-triggered anti-tumor immunity against immunosuppressive cancers, demonstrated the potential of the Au@PDA NPs for cancer immunotherapy.