Turn-On Supramolecular Host-Guest Nanosystems as Theranostics for Cancer

Abstract

Cancer is one of the world's most serious health challenges. Several problems and challenges still exist for cancer therapies especially because anti-cancer agents that are delivered to normal cells and tissues cause a number of severe side effects. In one general approach aimed at solving this problem, supramolecular systems, created by noncovalent interactions, have been designed and utilized for cancer-cell-targeted drug delivery. In addition, cancer-associated, turn-on supramolecular theranostic agents have received great attention in the biomedicine field because they can be selectively ''switched on'' in cancer cells. This attribute enables the avoidance of problems associated with cytotoxic effects on healthy cells and tissues. In this review, we summarize recent progress made in the design of turn-on supramolecular theranostic agents composed of host-guest nanosystems and their applications in biomedicine.

Stimuli-Responsive Drug-Delivery Systems Based on Supramolecular Nanovalves

“…For another instance, Huang et al designed and reported a phosphonated pillar [5] arene-valved (PPA [5]) delivery system for chemo-photothermal tumor therapy in 2017. 64 They installed choline or pyridinium stalks on the surface of gold nanorod (GNR)-embedded MSNs (GNR@MSNs) for further host-guest complexation with PPA [5] via ion pairing between quaternary ammonium and phosphonate moieties, as shown in Figure 3D. The opening of nanovalves could be induced by enriched Zn 2+ ions or competitive methyl viologen due to the coordination and competitive binding with PPA [5].…”

“…64 They installed choline or pyridinium stalks on the surface of gold nanorod (GNR)-embedded MSNs (GNR@MSNs) for further host-guest complexation with PPA [5] via ion pairing between quaternary ammonium and phosphonate moieties, as shown in Figure 3D. The opening of nanovalves could be induced by enriched Zn 2+ ions or competitive methyl viologen due to the coordination and competitive binding with PPA [5]. The experimental results revealed an invaluable insight for developing intelligent multiple-response delivery systems.…”

“…1,2 The past few decades have marked the advent of artificial molecular machines and smart supramolecular devices equipped with fascinating mechanical and reversible properties and capable of desirable stimuli responsiveness based on macrocyclic chemistry and host-guest chemistry, and accordingly great impetus has been given to the development of materials science, such as biomedical materials. [3][4][5][6] One appealing type of supramolecular assemblies refers to the gated devices serving for the security and escape of cargos. 7,8 As an essential player in supramolecular chemistry, reversible non-covalent interactions-which include electrostatic interactions, p-p stacking interactions, hydrophobic effects, van der Waals interactions, and hydrogen-bonding interactions-could effectively organize matching pieces together by molecular recognition to produce ordered supramolecular nanoarchitectures with tailorable size, morphology, and functions, such as micelles, nanoparticles (NPs), vesicles, and hydrogels.…”

Oxidation‐Responsive Nanoassemblies for Light‐Enhanced Gene Therapy

“…Gene therapy is one of the most promising approaches for the treatment of serious human diseases, the choice of gene vectors, and therapeutic strategies are of primary concern. Supramolecular gene vectors are widely studied in the realm of gene therapy because of their special responsiveness . In this work, the key issue of our research is to artificially control the redox‐response process of supramolecular assemblies to achieve efficient gene delivery.…”

Supramoleculartheranostic Platforms Goes Green

“…For this purpose, systems, which can selectively be "switched on" in the diseased locality, need to be designed and developed. These systems capable of avoiding problems that may arise due to cytotoxic effects of the drug on healthy cells and tissues mostly created by noncovalent interactions are called supramolecular systems [2]. These systems relying on weak and reversible forces (i.e., hydrogen bonds, hydrophobic forces, van der Waals forces, and metal-ligand coordination) play a key role in understanding biological processes, self-assembling systems as well as for constructing complex molecular machinery [3].…”