Sequential Synthesis of Coordination Polymersomes

Design and applications of metallo-vesicular structures using inorganic-organic hybrids

In advanced biomedical diagnosis, various supramolecular assemblies based on inorganic-organic hybrids have found great interest as functional materials. These assemblies describe a new field of metallovesicles where the introduction of metal ions enables the chemical manipulation of assemblies in terms of their structural stability, redox activity, and pH stability. Additionally, they mimic the elaborative architecture of natural liposomal assemblies and exhibit hierarchical morphologies, and promise novel functions. With the constant developments in this field, various supramolecular assemblies such as MCsomes, Polymersomes, and Metallosomes, etc. came into existence. These hybrid assemblies have been utilized for several applications such as drug delivery, MRI contrasting, DNA delivery, and catalytic activity. The key advantage of these assemblies is their ability to deliver therapeutics to specific locations due to their biomimetic properties and release their contents at the desired time. Hence, they provide a valuable platform for the treatment of a variety of diseases. Through the present article, we intend to provide insights into the latest developments made in this field. This modularity underscores the tremendous promise of supramolecular assemblies as an emerging interdisciplinary research branch at the interface of chemistry and biological sciences.

Calcium-induced reversible assembly of phosphorylated amphiphile within lipid bilayer membranes

Inspired by calcium-induced reversible assembly and disassembly of membrane proteins found in nature, here we developed a phosphorylated amphiphile (PA) that contains an oligo(phenylene-ethynylene) unit as a hydrophobic unit and a phosphate ester group as a hydrophilic calcium-binding unit. We demonstrated that PA can assemble and disassemble in a reversible manner in response to the sequential addition of calcium chloride and ethylene-diaminetetraacetic acid within the lipid bilayer membranes for the first time as a synthetic molecule.

Pseudo-Membrane Jackets: Two-Dimensional Coordination Polymers Achieving Visible Phase Separation in Cell Membrane

Cell membranes contain lateral systems that consist of various lipid compositions and actin cytoskeleton, providing two-dimensional (2D) platforms for chemical reactions. However, such complex 2D environments have not yet been used as a synthetic platform for artificial 2D nanomaterials. Herein, we demonstrate the direct synthesis of 2D coordination polymers (CPs) at the liquid-cell interface of the plasma membrane of living cells. The coordination-driven self-assembly of networking metal complex lipids produces cyanide-bridged CP layers with metal ions, enabling "pseudo-membrane jackets" that produce long-lived micro-domains with a size of 1-5 μm. The resultant artificial and visible phase separation systems remain stable even in the absence of actin skeletons in cells. Moreover, we show the cell application of the jackets by demonstrating the enhancement of cellular calcium response to ATP.

The impact of metal complex lipids on viscosity and curvature of hybrid liposomes

A morphology transformation of hybrid liposomes was shown to occur from spherical vesicles to tubular micelles when increasing the ratio of the metal complex lipid present. Phase transition temperatures increased while viscosities decreased, indicating that the hybrids exhibit stronger interaction between heads but weaker interaction between alkyl chains than occurs in pristine liposomes.

Zero in-Plane Thermal Expansion in Guest-Tunable 2D Coordination Polymers

Zero in-plane thermal expansion (TE) in a two-dimensional (2D) coordination polymer is demonstrated. The combination of components that expand and those that shrink into zigzag layers results in no net area change in the 2D materials with temperature. Single crystals of [Mn(salen)]₂[Mn(N)(CN)₄(guest)] (salen = N,N'-ethylenebis(salicylideneaminato), guest = MeOH and MeCN) were prepared, and variable-temperature single-crystal X-ray structural analyses demonstrated that these compounds exhibited both anisotropic positive and negative thermal expansion depending on the guest species. The TE behavior results from distortions of the octahedral coordination geometry of [Mn(salen)]⁺ units in the zigzag layers. When both guests MeOH and MeCN were incorporated into one material, [Mn(salen)]₂[Mn(N)(CN)₄(MeOH)_0.25(MeCN)_0.75], zero in-plane TE resulted in a range of temperature between 380 and 440 K.

Modulation of redox potentials utilizing the flexible coordination sphere of a penta-coordinate complex in the solid state

Slight changes in the coordination structure of the manganese(v)-nitrido anionic complex, [Mn^V(N)(CN)₄]^2-, induced by using a "lipid package" approach markedly made an impact on the corresponding redox potentials. The single crystals of four lipid assemblies, [dabco-(CH₂)_n-1-CH₃]₂[Mn(N)(CN)₄(H₂O)]·xH₂O (n = 15, 16, 17 and 18; dabco = 1,4-diazabicyclo[2,2,2]octane), were synthesized and solid-state cyclic voltammetric studies demonstrated that the [Mn^V(N)(CN)₄]^2- anions with smaller "cross" NC-Mn-CN bond angles exhibit higher redox potentials. The observed trend reflects the energy change associated with the structural transformation from [Mn^V(N)(CN)₄]^2- to [Mn^VI(N)(CN)₄]^2- and is supported by the results of DFT calculations. The NC-Mn-CN bond angles in the flexible [Mn(N)(CN)₄]^2- structure exhibit excellent correlation with the redox potentials of the complexes in the solid state.

Supramolecular architectures self-assembled using long chain alkylated spin crossover cobalt(ii) compounds

Self-assembled hybrid supramolecular architectures formed between amphiphilic anion and long alkylated cationic cobalt(ii) complexes have been synthesized and characterized.

Optimization, formulation, and characterization of multiflavonoids-loaded flavanosome by bulk or sequential technique

This study involves adaptation of bulk or sequential technique to load multiple flavonoids in a single phytosome, which can be termed as "flavonosome". Three widely established and therapeutically valuable flavonoids, such as quercetin (Q), kaempferol (K), and apigenin (A), were quantified in the ethyl acetate fraction of Moringa oleifera leaves extract and were commercially obtained and incorporated in a single flavonosome (QKA-phosphatidylcholine) through four different methods of synthesis - bulk (M1) and serialized (M2) co-sonication and bulk (M3) and sequential (M4) co-loading. The study also established an optimal formulation method based on screening the synthesized flavonosomes with respect to their size, charge, polydispersity index, morphology, drug-carrier interaction, antioxidant potential through in vitro 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl kinetics, and cytotoxicity evaluation against human hepatoma cell line (HepaRG). Furthermore, entrapment and loading efficiency of flavonoids in the optimal flavonosome have been identified. Among the four synthesis methods, sequential loading technique has been optimized as the best method for the synthesis of QKA-phosphatidylcholine flavonosome, which revealed an average diameter of 375.93±33.61 nm, with a zeta potential of -39.07±3.55 mV, and the entrapment efficiency was >98% for all the flavonoids, whereas the drug-loading capacity of Q, K, and A was 31.63%±0.17%, 34.51%±2.07%, and 31.79%±0.01%, respectively. The in vitro 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl kinetics of the flavonoids indirectly depicts the release kinetic behavior of the flavonoids from the carrier. The QKA-loaded flavonosome had no indication of toxicity toward human hepatoma cell line as shown by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide result, wherein even at the higher concentration of 200 µg/mL, the flavonosomes exert >85% of cell viability. These results suggest that sequential loading technique may be a promising nanodrug delivery system for loading multiflavonoids in a single entity with sustained activity as an antioxidant, hepatoprotective, and hepatosupplement candidate.