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.