Development of Natural-Drugs-Based Low-Molecular-Weight Supramolecular Gels

Abstract

Natural small molecular drugs with excellent biocompatibility, diverse pharmacological activities, and wide sources play an increasingly important role in the development of new drug and disease treatment. In recent years, the utilization of paclitaxel, camptothecin, rhein, curcumin, and other natural small molecular drugs with unique rigid backbone structures and modifiable multiple sites as building blocks to form gels by self-assembly has attracted widespread attention. The obtained low-molecular-weight supramolecular gel not only retains the general characteristics of the gel but also overcomes the shortcomings of natural drugs, such as poor water solubility and low bioavailability. It has the advantages of high drug loading, low toxicity, and outstanding stimulus responsiveness, which is widely used in biomedical fields. Here, we provided a comprehensive review of natural-drugs-based low-molecular-weight supramolecular gels reported in recent years and summarized their assembly mechanism, gel structure, gel properties, and potential applications. It is expected to provide a reference for further research of natural-drugs-based supramolecular gels.

Pharmacological Activity, Pharmacokinetics, and Clinical Research Progress of Puerarin

“…The outcomes showed that Fmoc-Phe-OH nanofibers effectively supported the three-dimensional network structure of puerarin aggregates, and significantly improved their thermal steadiness and mechanical strength. In addition, the modified hydrogel of puerarin is also pH-sensitive and antibacterial, which can reach controlled release and a synergistic antibacterial effect [ 186 , 187 ]. Puerarin can also self-assemble by heat-cooling operation to form supramolecular hydrogels with antioxidant and acid resistance, which is beneficial for use in oral preparations [ 188 , 189 ].…”

Aramid Nanofibers-Reinforced Rhein Fibrous Hydrogels as Antibacterial and Anti-Inflammatory Burn Wound Dressings

“…Natural small molecular drugs that have unique rigid backbone structures and various chemical reactive functional groups are promising building blocks to form self-assembled hydrogels. , The assembled hydrogels would retain the general characteristics of hydrogels and overcome the shortcomings of molecule drugs (e.g., poor water solubility and low bioavailability) . Rhein (i.e., 4,5-dihydroxyanthraquinone-2-carboxylic acid), a major active ingredient of the herbal medicine rhubarb, possesses a range of pharmacological effects include anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antimicrobial, and regulation of glucose and lipid metabolism. , Rhein can directly self-assemble into fibrous hydrogels without structural modification .…”

Sugar-Based Phase-Selective Supramolecular Self-Assembly System for Dye Removal and Selective Detection of Cu2+ Ions

“…Since carbohydrates are biocompatible, biodegradable, rich in stereochemistry, nontoxic, eco-friendly, inexpensive, and moreover derived from abundant renewable resources, they have proven to be an ideal choice for the development of organogels compared with other gel types . Carbohydrate-derived organogelators display applications in various fields, such as oil-spill recovery, semiconducting fabrics, CO 2 absorption, generation of nanocomposite materials, soft-optical devices, separating biomolecules, lectin binding, controlled drug encapsulation, release and delivery, self-healing, metal ion detection, and many others. − …”

“… 23 Carbohydrate-derived organogelators display applications in various fields, such as oil-spill recovery, semiconducting fabrics, CO 2 absorption, generation of nanocomposite materials, soft-optical devices, separating biomolecules, lectin binding, controlled drug encapsulation, release and delivery, self-healing, metal ion detection, and many others. 24 − 26 …”