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. 2019 Nov;6(6):1128-1137.
doi: 10.1093/nsr/nwz018. Epub 2019 Feb 5.

Supramolecular nanoscale drug-delivery system with ordered structure

Xin Jin  1 , Lijuan Zhu  1 , Bai Xue  1 , Xinyuan Zhu  1 , Deyue Yan  1
Affiliations

Supramolecular nanoscale drug-delivery system with ordered structure

Xin Jin et al. Natl Sci Rev. 2019 Nov.

Abstract

Supramolecular chemistry provides a means to integrate multi-type molecules leading to a dynamic organization. The study of functional nanoscale drug-delivery systems based on supramolecular interactions is a recent trend. Much work has focused on the design of supramolecular building blocks and the engineering of supramolecular integration, with the goal of optimized delivery behavior and enhanced therapeutic effect. This review introduces recent advances in supramolecular designs of nanoscale drug delivery. Supramolecular affinity can act as a main driving force either in the self-assembly of carriers or in the loading of drugs. It is also possible to employ strong recognitions to achieve self-delivery of drugs. Due to dynamic controllable drug-release properties, the supramolecular nanoscale drug-delivery system provides a promising platform for precision medicine.

Keywords: drug-delivery system; host–guest recognition; precision medicine; self-delivery system; supramolecular chemistry.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Schematic illustration of (a) supramolecular polymerization route of cationic supramolecular block copolymer, (b) pDNA condensing, and (c) intracellular delivery and H2O2-triggered release of pDNA in vitro. Adapted with permission from [67].
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Structure illustration and assembly visualization (AFM tapping image and simulation illustration) of three designs of the Tat-RADA-Fn sequence: 2F-RT (a), 3F-RT (b) and 4F-RT (c). Encapsulation efficiency of autophagy inducer rapamycin (d-1) and the drug-release profile (d-2). Adapted with permission from [73].
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
(a) Synthetic route, chemical structure of nucleoside phospholipids and (b) the schematic representation of the formation of supramolecular phospholipids. Adapted with permission from [77].
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Cartoon illustration of the synthesis of the host–guest-mediated multi-enzyme delivery system. (a) Synthesis route of host building block PEG-CD and guest building block PEG-AD; (b) formation of multi-enzyme nanocluster through host–guest recognition-driven self-assembly. Adapted with permission from [95].
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Schematic illustration of (a) the synthesis route and self-assembly of a DOC nanoparticle, and (b) aptamer and imaging agent loading through base-pairing interactions. Adapted with permission from [97].
Figure 6.
Figure 6.
Molecular simulation for the supramolecular interaction and self-assembly of CA and RT in the existence of water. (a) Optimized structure of CA/RT motif with binding affinity calculated using the DFT method; (b) coarse-grained models of CA, RT and water; (c)–(e) DPD simulations of the self-assembly of the CA/RT motif in solution. Adapted with permission from [105].
Figure 7.
Figure 7.
Schematic illustration of the construction and function of the supramolecular self-delivery system. (a) The structure of the drug building blocks and the formation of the supramolecular self-delivery system through self-assembly (I), and simulation illustration of supramolecular affinity between two drugs (II). (b) Delivery behavior and therapy mechanism in vivo after intravenous injection. Adapted with permission from [102].
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