Controlling Complex Stability in Photoresponsive Macromolecular Host–Guest Systems: Toward Reversible Capture of DNA by Cyclodextrin Vesicles

Cyclodextrins in drug delivery: applications in gene and combination therapy

Gene therapy is a powerful tool against genetic disorders and cancer, targeting the source of the disease rather than just treating the symptoms. While much of the initial success of gene delivery relied on viral vectors, non-viral vectors are emerging as promising gene delivery systems for efficacious treatment with decreased toxicity concerns. However, the delivery of genetic material is still challenging, and there is a need for vectors with enhanced targeting, reduced toxicity, and controlled release. In this article, we highlight current work in gene therapy which utilizes the cyclic oligosaccharide molecule cyclodextrin (CD). With a number of unique abilities, such as hosting small molecule drugs, acting as a linker or modular component, reducing immunogenicity, and disrupting membranes, CD is a valuable constituent in many delivery systems. These carriers also demonstrate great promise in combination therapies, due to the ease of assembling macromolecular structures and wide variety of chemical derivatives, which allow for customizable delivery systems and co-delivery of therapeutics. The use of combination and personalized therapies can result in improved patient health-modular systems, such as those which incorporate CD, are more conducive to these therapy types. Graphical abstract.

Photoresponsive host-guest chemistry and relaxation time of fluorinated cyclodextrin and arylazopyrazole-functionalized DOTA metal complexes

Light-responsive modulation of the longitudinal (T1) and transversal relaxation times of a fluorinated cyclodextrin has been achieved by host-guest complexation with arylazopyrazole-modified metal complexes in aqueous solution. This supramolecular concept can potentially be applied to the development of contrast agents for 19F magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Multiple-responsive supramolecular vesicle based on azobenzene-cyclodextrin host-guest interaction

Multiple-responsive supramolecular vesicles have been successfully fabricated by the complexation between β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and a pH/photo dual-responsive amphiphile 4-(4-(hexyloxy)phenylazo)benzoate sodium (HPB) with azobenzene and carboxylate groups. When mixing β-CD with HPB to reach a host/guest molar ratio of 1 : 1, the azobenzene group of HPB could be spontaneously included by β-CD molecules. Then, the formed inclusion complexes (HPB@β-CD) could self-assemble into vesicles, which was driven by the hydrophobic interaction of the alkyl chain of HPB and the hydrogen bonds between neighboring β-CDs. The reversible assembly/disassembly of the vesicles could be simply regulated under UV or visible light irradiation. The reversible phase transformation between vesicles and microbelts could also be realized by adjusting the pH values of the sample. Adding both competitive guest molecules (1-adamantane carboxylic acid sodium (ADA)) and α-amylase would result in the phase transformation from vesicles to micelles. Moreover, the vesicles would be destroyed when β-CD was continuously added until the ratio of host/guest reached 2 : 1. Such an interesting quintuple-responsive vesicle system reported here not only has potential applications in various fields such as controlled release or drug delivery, but also provides a reference for the design and construction of multiple responsive systems.

A quintuple-responsive vesicle system was successfully fabricated by simply mixing HPB with an equal amount of β-CD.

Photoresponsive Zn2+-specific metallohydrogels coassembled from imidazole containing phenylalanine and arylazopyrazole derivatives

Stimuli-responsive supramolecular gels and metallogels have been widely explored in the past decade, but the fabrication of metallogels with reversible photoresponsive properties remains largely unexplored.

Co-responsive smart cyclodextrin-gated mesoporous silica nanoparticles with ligand-receptor engagement for anti-cancer treatment

Combination of both internal- and external-stimuli responsive strategies in nanoplatforms can maximize therapeutic outcomes by overcoming drug efflux-mediated resistance and prolonging sustained release of therapeutic payloads in controlled and sequential manner. Here, we show a light/redox dual-stimuli responsive β-cyclodextrin (β-CD)-gated mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) that can effectively load and seal the chemotherapeutics, doxorubicin (DOX), inside MSN with a dual-capped system. The primary gatekeeper was achieved by capping β-CD via a disulfide linkage. An azobenzene/galactose-grafted polymer (GAP) was introduced to functionalize the MSN surface through host-guest interaction. GAP not only served as a secondary non-covalent polymer-gatekeeper to further prevent molecules from leaking out, but also presented targeting ligand for engagement of the asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGPR) on hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cells. The controlled and stimuli release of DOX could be realized via dissociation of azobenzene moieties from β-CD cage upon UV-irradiation, followed by liberation with the endogenous glutathione. The in vitro studies verified the redox-sensitive DOX release behavior, and the UV irradiation could accelerate this process to trigger DOX burst from MSN-ss-CD/GAP. Notably, the DOX@MSN-ss-CD/GAP could more efficiently deliver DOX into HepG2 cells and demonstrate enhanced cytotoxicity as compared with HeLa and COS7 cells. The smart MSN-ss-CD/GAP delivery system holds the potential for universal therapeutic uses in both biomedical research and clinical settings.

Complex systems that incorporate cyclodextrins to get materials for some specific applications

Cyclodextrins (CDs) are a family of biodegradable cyclic hydrocarbons composed of α-(1,4) linked glucopyranose subunits, the more common containing 6, 7 or 8 glucose units are named α, β and γ-cyclodextrins respectively. Since the discovery of CDs, they have attracted interest among scientists and the first studies were about the properties of the native compounds and in particular their use as catalysts of organic reactions. Characteristics features of different types of cyclodextrins stimulated investigation in different areas of research, due to its non-toxic and non-inmunogenic properties and also to the development of an improved industrial production. In this way, many materials with important properties have been developed. This mini-review will focus on chemical systems that use cyclodextrins, whatever linked covalently or mediated by the non covalent interactions, to build complex systems developed mainly during the last five years.

Light-Responsive Arylazopyrazole Gelators: From Organic to Aqueous Media and from Supramolecular to Dynamic Covalent Chemistry

Versatile photoresponsive gels based on tripodal low molecular weight gelators (LMWGs) are reported. A cyclohexane-1,3,5-tricarboxamide (CTA) core provides face-to-face hydrogen bonding and a planar conformation, inducing the self-assembly of supramolecular polymers. The CTA core was substituted with three arylazopyrazole (AAP) arms. AAP is a molecular photoswitch that isomerizes reversibly under alternating UV and green light irradiation. The E isomer of AAP is planar, favoring the self-assembly, whereas the Z isomer has a twisted structure, leading to a disassembly of the supramolecular polymers. By using tailor-made molecular design of the tripodal gelator, light-responsive organogels and hydrogels were obtained. Additionally, in the case of the hydrogels, AAP was coupled to the core through hydrazones, so that the hydrogelator and, hence, the photoresponsive hydrogel could also be assembled and disassembled by using dynamic covalent chemistry.

Influence of metal coordination and light irradiation on hierarchical self-assembly processes

Smart light-responsive supramolecular materials have been extensively investigated in the past decade, but so far the impact of metal coordination on hierarchical supramolecular structures of light-responsive building blocks has remained nearly unexplored. Herein, we unravel the hierarchical self-assembly of a small π-conjugated azo-containing pyridyl ligand that is able to respond to UV-light and metal complexation. The ligand self-assembles in an antiparallel fashion into long twisted fibers, which are then disassembled upon photoisomerization of the azobenzene groups, resulting in shorter rigid rods with a different packing motif. Complexation of Pd(ii) ions enhances the cooperativity of the aggregation and induces a molecular rearrangement into slipped stacks with subsequent formation of long thin fibers. These are then transformed into thinner, shorter rods upon light irradiation. The observed different light-responsiveness, besides clearing up the influence of metal coordination and light irradiation in self-assembly processes, paves the way towards the design of novel supramolecular photochromic systems.

Responsive surface adhesion based on host–guest interaction of polymer brushes with cyclodextrins and arylazopyrazoles

Polymer brushes functionalized with cyclodextrin host and arylazopyrazole guest monomers provide strong surface adhesion that is water resistent but can be deactivated by UV irradiation.

Physical stimuli-responsive vesicles in drug delivery: Beyond liposomes and polymersomes

Over the past few decades, a range of vesicle-based drug delivery systems have entered clinical practice and several others are in various stages of clinical translation. While most of these vesicle constructs are lipid-based (liposomes), or polymer-based (polymersomes), recently new classes of vesicles have emerged that defy easy classification. Examples include assemblies with small molecule amphiphiles, biologically derived membranes, hybrid vesicles with two or more classes of amphiphiles, or more complex hierarchical structures such as vesicles incorporating gas bubbles or nanoparticulates in the lumen or membrane. In this review, we explore these recent advances and emerging trends at the edge and just beyond the research fields of conventional liposomes and polymersomes. A focus of this review is the distinct behaviors observed for these classes of vesicles when exposed to physical stimuli - such as ultrasound, heat, light and mechanical triggers - and we discuss the resulting potential for new types of drug delivery, with a special emphasis on current challenges and opportunities.

Immuno-modified superparamagnetic nanoparticles via host-guest interactions for high-purity capture and mild release of exosomes

The study of exosomes has great significance for cancer diagnosis and prognosis, in which damage-free isolation of exosomes is a critically important step due to their extremely low concentration in body fluids. Herein, immunoaffinitive superparamagnetic nanoparticles (IS-NPs) were successfully constructed by combining antibodies with superparamagnetic nanoparticles through host-guest interactions between β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and 4-aminoazobenzene (AAB). Exosomes in cell-culture supernatants or body fluids can be efficiently captured by IS-NPs and then mildly eluted by competitive host molecules, α-CD. Approximately 80% of the exosomes were captured by the IS-NPs from the model samples containing varied concentrations of exosomes (10¹¹-10⁷ exosomes per mL). After elution, the release efficiency of the captured exosomes was as high as 86.5%, as calculated from the extracted RNA content. A comparison between the exosomes isolated by our IS-NPs, conventional ultracentrifugation (UC), polyethylene glycol (PEG)-based precipitation, and a commercial kit was conducted to examine the performance of the IS-NP exosome isolation. The particle-to-protein ratio of IS-NP captured exosomes (8.8 ± 1.3 × 10⁹) was eight-fold higher than that of the UC (1.1 ± 0.4 × 10⁹) and more than two-fold that of the PEG-based precipitation (3.7 ± 0.8 × 10⁹) and commercial kit (3.2 ± 0.8 × 10⁹) isolated ones, revealing that IS-NPs yielded more exosomes with higher purity than all the other three approaches. Cellular uptake experiments demonstrated that the exosomes captured by IS-NPs have retained their structural and functional integrities, and their broad applications in biomedical areas could therefore be expected. Promisingly, this host-guest interaction involving immunoaffinity magnetic particle system could offer a new way for fast, high-efficiency and high-purity exosome isolation and elution, further benefitting exosomes' applications in desired areas.

Smart Air-Water Interfaces with Arylazopyrazole Surfactants and Their Role in Photoresponsive Aqueous Foam

A new light-switchable azo-surfactant arylazopyrazole tetraethylene glycol carboxylic acid (AAP-E₄) was used as a molecular building block to functionalize macroscopic foams. AAP-E₄ was studied in the bulk solution with UV/vis spectroscopy and at the interface with sum-frequency generation (SFG) as well as tensiometry. Additional foaming experiments were performed with a dynamic foam analyzer to study the role of AAP-E₄ surfactants at the ubiquitous air-water interface as well as within macroscopic foam. In the bulk, it is possible to switch the AAP-E₄ surfactant reversibly from trans to cis configurations and vice versa using 380 nm UV and 520 nm green light, respectively. At the interface, we demonstrate the excellent switching ability of AAP-E₄ surfactants and a substantial modification of the surface tension. In addition, we show that the response of the interface is strongly influenced by lateral electrostatic interactions, which can be tuned by the charging state of AAP-E₄. Consequently, the electrostatic disjoining pressure and thus the foam stability are highly dependent on the bulk pH and the charging state of the interface. For that reason, we have studied both the surface net charge (SFG) and the surface excess (tensiometry) as important parameters that determine foam stability in this system and show that neutral pH conditions lead to the optimal compromise between switching ability, surface excess, and surface charging. Measurements on the foam stability demonstrated that foams under irradiation with green light are more stable than foams irradiated with UV light.

Arylazopyrazole Photoswitches in Aqueous Solution: Substituent Effects, Photophysical Properties, and Host-Guest Chemistry

Getting the green light! Substituted arylazopyrazoles (AAPs) have been investigated as supramolecular photoswitches in aqueous solution. Selective photostationary states (PSSs) and improved binding affinities to β-cyclodextrin have been determined. The experimental findings are supported by results from DFT calculations.

Xylylene Clips for the Topology-Guided Control of the Inclusion and Self-Assembling Properties of Cyclodextrins

The topology of β-cyclodextrin can be molded, from toroidal to ovoid basket-shaped, by the installation of an o- or m-xylylene moiety connecting two consecutive d-glucopyranosyl units through the secondary O-2(I) and O-3(II) positions. This strategy can be exploited advantageously to precast the cavity for preferential inclusion of globular or planar guests as well as to privilege dimeric or monomeric species in water solution.

A Modular System for the Design of Stimuli-Responsive Multifunctional Nanoparticle Aggregates by Use of Host-Guest Chemistry

A self-assembly approach for the design of multifunctional nanomaterials consisting of different nanoparticles (gold, iron oxide, and lanthanide-doped LiYF₄ ) is developed. This modular system takes advantage of the light-responsive supramolecular host-guest chemistry of β-cyclodextrin and arylazopyrazole, which enables the dynamic and reversible self-assembly of particles to spherical nanoparticle aggregates in aqueous solution. Due to the magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles, the aggregates can be manipulated by an external magnetic field leading to the formation of linear structures. As a result of the integration of upconversion nanoparticles, the aggregates are additionally responsive to near-infrared light and can be redispersed by use of the upconversion effect. By varying the nanoparticle and linker concentrations the composition, size, shape, and properties of the multifunctional nanoparticle aggregates can be fine-tuned.

Hierarchical supramolecular hydrogels: self-assembly by peptides and photo-controlled release via host–guest interaction

Using photoresponsive host–guest chemistry, three different payloads can be photo-released successively from the same peptide hydrogel.