The therapeutic efficacy of cuproptosis, ferroptosis, and apoptosis is hindered by inadequate intracellular copper and iron levels, hypoxia, and elevated glutathione (GSH) expression in tumor cells. Thermoelectric technology is an emerging frontier in medical therapy that aims to achieve efficient thermal and electrical transport characteristics within a narrow thermal range for biological systems. Here, we systematically constructed biodegradable Cu₂MnS_3-x-PEG/glucose oxidase (MCPG) with sulfur vacancies (S_V) using photothermoelectric catalysis (PTEC), photothermal-enhanced enzyme catalysis, and starvation therapy. This triggers GSH consumption and disrupts intracellular redox homeostasis, leading to immunogenic cell death. Under 1064 nm laser irradiation, MCPG enriched with S_V, owing to doping, generates a local temperature gradient that activates PTEC and produces toxic reactive oxygen species (ROS). Hydroxyl radicals and oxygen are generated through peroxide and catalase-like processes. Increased oxygen levels alleviate tumor hypoxia, whereas hydrogen peroxide production from glycometabolism provides sufficient ROS for a cascade catalytic reaction, establishing a self-reinforcing positive mechanism. Density functional theory calculations demonstrated that vacancy defects effectively enhanced enzyme catalytic activity. Multimodal imaging-guided synergistic therapy not only damages tumor cells, but also elicits an antitumor immune response to inhibit tumor metastasis. This study offers novel insights into the cuproptosis/ferroptosis/apoptosis pathways of Cu-based PTEC nanozymes.

Simon Fraser University’s Burnaby campus is once again home to Canada’s most powerful academic supercomputer, following the installation of a new system, named Fir. The new Fir system replaces the Cedar supercomputer, housed at the Cedar Supercomputing Centre (the Centre) at SFU. Fir is ranked number 78 in the TOP500 list of the world’s most powerful supercomputers, the only Canadian system in the top 100 worldwide.

“The new Fir supercomputer represents a much needed, major upgrade to the national Canadian computing infrastructure,” says Dugan O’Neil, SFU’s Vice President Research and Innovation. “The growing importance of data for research in all types of academia and in industry continues to drive demand for high-performance computing, and we are meeting that need. Fir will drive research across Canada and I have no doubt it will facilitate significant advances in a wide range of fields in the coming years.”