Photothermal therapy (PTT) has emerged as a distinct therapeutic modality owing to its noninvasiveness and spatiotemporal selectivity. However,
heat-shock proteins (HSPs) endow
tumor cells with resistance to heat-induced apoptosis, severely lowering the therapeutic efficacy of PTT. Here, a high-performance pyroelectric nanocatalyst, Bi13 S18 I2 nanorods (NRs), with prominent pyroelectric conversion and photothermal conversion performance for augmented pyrocatalytic
tumor nanotherapy, is developed. Canonical binary compounds are reconstructed by inserting a third biocompatible agent, thus facilitating the formation of Bi13 S18 I2 NRs with enhanced pyrocatalytic conversion efficiency. Under 808 nm
laser irradiation, Bi13 S18 I2 NRs induce a conspicuous temperature elevation for photonic
hyperthermia. In particular, Bi13 S18 I2 NRs harvest pyrocatalytic energy from the heating and cooling alterations to produce abundant
reactive oxygen species, which results in the depletion of HSPs and hence the reduction of thermoresistance of
tumor cells, thereby significantly augmenting the therapeutic efficacy of photothermal
tumor hyperthermia. By synergizing the pyroelectric dynamic
therapy with PTT,
tumor suppression with a significant
tumor inhibition rate of 97.2% is achieved after
intravenous administration of Bi13 S18 I2 NRs and subsequent exposure to an 808 nm
laser. This work opens an avenue for the design of high-performance pyroelectric nanocatalysts by reconstructing canonical binary compounds for therapeutic applications in biocatalytic nanomedicine.