Photo‐responsive carbon dots for pyroptosis‐mediated anti‐tumor application

Abstract Pyroptosis refers to a kind of lytic programmed cell death, characterized by the release of pro‐inflammatory cytokines during the process. Owing to its immune response stimulation ability, pyroptosis has garnered considerable attention in the field of cancer immunotherapy in recent years. The generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) via photo‐responsive carbon dots (CDs) represents a novel strategy to induce pyroptosis, offering potential for clinical translation due to its biosafety and non‐invasive property. This review first introduces the mechanisms and relevant pathways of pyroptosis, followed by the summary of the main design strategies for high‐performance photo‐responsive CDs. Most importantly, we highlight the reported CDs that induce pyroptosis through photo‐triggered ROS generation and summarize the key factors governing this process. Collectively, this review may provide new insights and guidance for researchers in designing optimized photo‐responsive CDs for tumor cell pyroptosis.