Enzyme-Responsive Molecular Assemblies Based on Host–Guest Chemistry

Abstract

Recent years have witnessed a growing interest in the design of enzyme-responsive molecular assemblies that hold appealing applications in the fields of disease-related sensing, imaging, and drug delivery. Cyclodextrins (CDs) are amylasecleavable host molecules that can associate with surfactants, alkanes, alkyl amines, fatty alcohols, and aromatic compounds to form diverse supramolecular structures. In this work, we report a versatile supramolecular platform to construct enzyme-responsive nanosystems via host−guest interactions, in which complexation between CDs and surfactants eventually leads to the formation of a variety of nanostructures such as vesicles and microtubes. These supramolecular structures are capable of loading water-soluble molecules or functional nanoparticles, which can be actively released on-demand in the presence of α-amylase. This universal strategy to fabricate enzyme-responsive supramolecular systems was further demonstrated with a range of surfactants with anionic, cationic, and nonionic headgroups. Our results highlight a versatile platform for the exploration of biologically responsive self-assembly with potential applications as controlled-release systems and microrobots.

Stimuli-Responsive Functional Micro-/Nanorobots: A Review

“…srFM/Ns have been shown to play significant roles in many frontier applications (such as drug release, , biosensing, − environment decontamination, bionic motion, , grippers, and soft microwalkers). As promising as srFM/Ns can be, few reviews have focused on them.…”

Hyaluronidase-trigger nanocarriers for targeted delivery of anti-liver cancer compound

“…Stimulus-responsive drug delivery system (DDS) is a functional nanocarrier that can release drugs rapidly or at a certain rate aer entering the body by changing the structure and conguration of the carrier under the stimulation of a specic environment including light, heat, ultrasound, enzyme, and pH changes. [12][13][14][15][16][17][18] Especially, enzyme-responsive nanocarriers have been investigated extensively due to their high sensitivity, catalytic activity, and mild reaction. [19][20][21][22][23][24] As we all know, abnormal expression of enzymes is one of the markers of the occurrence and development of tumors.…”

Exploring the membrane fluidity of phenyl boronic acid functionalized polymersomes using the FRAP technique and their application in the pH-sensitive release of curcumin

“…Targeted drug-delivery treatment can be achieved by a stimuli-responsive DDS through functionalizing the ligands, which can facilitate drug delivery to the tumour cells. [11][12][13][14][15] This treatment is based on the strategy where the overexpression of antigens or receptors differentiates tumour cells from normal cells, facilitating the binding of a ligand-conjugated DDS to the tumour cells. This strategy increases the drug residence at the target site, leading to a higher cellular uptake and intra-cellular stability with minimum unsought side effects; thereby resulting in a higher therapeutic efficiency.…”