Biosupramolecular assemblies combining cucurbit[n]urils (CB[n]s) and proteins for the targeted delivery of drugs have the potential to improve the photoactivity of photosensitizers used in the photodynamic therapy of cancer. Understanding the complexity of these systems and how it affects the properties of photosensitizers is the focus of this work. We used acridine orange (AO) as a model photosensitizer and compared it with methylene blue (MB) and a cationic porphyrin (TMPyP). Encapsulation of the photosensitizers into CB[n]s (n = 7, 8) modified their photoactivity. In particular, for AO, the photo-oxidation of HSA was enhanced in the presence of CB[7]; meanwhile it was decreased when included into CB[8]. Accordingly, peroxide generation and protein fragmentation were also increased when AO was encapsulated into CB[7]. The triplet excited state lifetimes of all the photosensitizers were lengthened by their encapsulation into CB[n]s, while the singlet oxygen quantum yield was enhanced only for AO and TMPyP, but it decreased for MB. The results obtained in this work prompt the necessity of further investigating these kinds of hybrid assemblies as drug delivery systems because of their possible applications in biomedicine.

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El cambio climático es hoy unos de los principales desafíos globales que enfrenta la humanidad, y por ello uno de los principales temas de discusión en foros y encuentros internacionales. A pesar de que en diferentes rondas multilaterales se ha tratado este tema, incluyendo compromisos firmados como el Acuerdo de París, y que los países han llegado a consensos sobre la necesidad de contener el aumento de temperatura global por debajo de 2 grados Celsius para el año 2030, las emisiones de Gases de Efecto Invernadero (GEI) continúan creciendo y el tiempo para lograr las metas sigue reduciéndose (OCDE, 2021). Mitigar los efectos del calentamiento global (tendencia que ha ocurrido durante los últimos 150 años debido al aumento de emisiones de GEI derivados de la quema de combustibles fósiles) y adaptarse a sus consecuencias requiere una activa participación hacia el desarrollo de actividades económicas que salvaguarden la conservación de la biodiversidad (National Geographic, 2020). En este contexto, se calcula que el 25% de las emisiones de GEI globales están relacionadas al comercio de bienes, con un 7% directamente ligado al transporte de estas mercancías (ITF, 2016). Desde este problema, nace la oportunidad de diseñar e implementar políticas comerciales instrumentales para el diálogo entre el comercio y medio ambiente, y la consecución de objetivos ligados al desarrollo sostenible.

The current international pandemic situation caused by the COVID-19 outbreak has disrupted economic activity and development worldwide. However, digital enabled activities have proven a relative stronger resilience, and, worldwide, most economic sectors have shifted to digital platforms to continue operating. In this context, the drafting of digital economy regulations has become a relevant policy issue for governments across the Asia Pacific region. Nevertheless, the absence of multilateral regulations in this area has become an obstacle for achieving common regulatory frameworks to deal with digital economy issues, for which regional and bilateral agreements have begun to draft regulations. The proliferation of digital economy provisions in preferential agreements may lead to the so called “spaghetti bowl”. From here, the objective of this paper is to contribute to the governance of digital economy among APEC economies, through the characterization of free trade agreements signed between APEC and Latin American economies. This selection was made due to the diversity of agreements that can be found within this subregion. In this context, the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA), led by Chile, New Zealand, and Singapore has become a reference point that could serve as a stepping stone towards common regulatory frameworks in this matter. The paper concludes that DEPA may be used as a benchmark for the development of regulations that will help boost cross border e-commerce in APEC economies for a post pandemic sustainable recovery.