Polymeric Systems Containing Supramolecular Coordination Complexes for Drug Delivery

Abstract

Cancer has become a common disease that seriously endangers human health and life. Up to now, the essential treatment method has been drug therapy, and drug delivery plays an important role in cancer therapy. To improve the efficiency of drug therapy, researchers are committed to improving drug delivery methods to enhance drug pharmacokinetics and cancer accumulation. Supramolecular coordination complexes (SCCs) with well-defined shapes and sizes are formed through the coordination between diverse functional organic ligands and metal ions, and they have emerged as potential components in drug delivery and cancer therapy. In particular, micelles or vesicles with the required biocompatibility and stability are synthesized using SCC-containing polymeric systems to develop novel carriers for drug delivery that possess combined properties and extended system tunability. In this study, the research status of SCC-containing polymeric systems as drug carriers and adjuvants for cancer treatment is reviewed, and a special focus is given to their design and preparation.

Synthesis and Coordination Properties of a Water-Soluble Material by Cross-Linking Low Molecular Weight Polyethyleneimine with Armed Cyclotriveratrilene

“…The requirement of limiting or rendering more discriminant drug toxicity interests researchers in preparing and investigating different drug-coordinating platforms [ 6 , 7 , 8 ]. Polymers have been found to have intensive applications for coordination with therapeutic agents due to their large molecular structures and functionalization [ 9 ].…”

Metal Ions in Cancer Prevention and Treatment with Traditional Chinese Medicine

“…In personalized therapies, metal ions and active compounds have been realized not only for combined therapy, but also for diagnosis and treatment [137][138][139][140] . Furthermore, new perspectives on NP-based transport systems of drugs have emerged, such as supramolecular coordination complexes [141] and carrier-free nanomedicines [142][143] . Despite the emergence of novel therapeutics, there are still many challenges to be addressed, such as how to achieve high drug-loading rate and precise target, and the need to obtain a large amount of clinical data to verify the safety and efficacy.…”

Strategies to address key challenges of metallacycle/metallacage-based supramolecular coordination complexes in biomedical applications

“…One involves encapsulating hydrophobic SCCs within nanocarriers featuring hydrophilic surfaces. [62][63][64] The other strategy is to chemically modify SCCs with hydrophilic groups or long chains, conferring a degree of water solubility (carrier-free). [65][66][67]…”