p-Sulfonatocalix[4]arene-induced amphiphilic aggregation of fluorocarbon surfactant

Assembly behaviors of calixarene-based amphiphile and supra-amphiphile and the applications in drug delivery and protein recognition

Calixarene is the third generation of supra-molecular compounds after crown ether and cyclodextrin. Amphiphilic calixarene can be obtained by modulation with both hydrophilic group and hydrophobic alkyl chain. Compared with conventional surfactant, amphiphilic calixarene has much lower critical micelle concentration and is much easier to self-assemble into different morphological aggregates. Calixarene-basedsupra-amphiphile can be designed via noncovalent bonds due to the capability of calixarene to recognize surfactant; the binding of a surfactant with calixarene can decrease the critical micelle concentration of surfactant by several times. The calixarene-surfactant complex can self-aggregate to form spherical micelles, vesicles, and spherical nanoparticles, and the aggregation behavior can be controlled by the structures and the molar ratio of surfactant to calixarene and environmental factors. Calixarene-based amphiphile and supra-amphiphile show low cytotoxicity. They can load drugs and assemble into nanocapsules with drugs. The structure of the calixarene-drug complex can respond to external stimuli, rendering the sustained release of the drug and suggesting its potential application as a drug delivery system. Recently, calixarene has also been found to selectively bind proteins, suggesting its prospect in disease diagnosis and intervention treatment in clinics. This review elaborates on the research progress in the self-assembly behaviors of calixarene-based amphiphile and supra-amphiphile and the applications of the calixarenes in drug delivery and protein recognition. The prospectives for the studies are also provided in this review.

Aggregation of Oligomeric Surfactant Constructed by Four-Armed Carboxylic Acid Sodium and Cationic Surfactant

A star-shaped oligomeric-like surfactant with variable oligomeric degrees has been formed with a four-arm carboxylate salt (4EOCOONa) and cationic single chain surfactant dodecyl trimethylammonium bromide (DTAB). The aggregation of the 4EOCOONa/(DTAB)_n complexes has been investigated by surface tension, electrical conductivity, isothermal titration microcalorimetry, ζ potential, dynamic light scattering, ¹H NMR spectroscopy, and steady-state fluorescence measurements. The calorimetric result shows that 4EOCOONa interacts strongly with DTAB and each 4EOCOONa molecule binds with six DTAB molecules, wherein four DTAB molecules electrostatically bind to one 4EOCOONa molecule and additional two DTAB molecules further bind to the 4EOCOONa/(DTAB)_n complex by hydrophobic interaction. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) of the 4EOCOONa/(DTAB)_n complexes is remarkably lower than the CMC of DTAB, similar to synthesized star-shaped oligomeric surfactants. The micelle properties of the DTAB/4EOCOONa mixtures depend on the component changes of the 4EOCOONa/(DTAB)_n complexes. By increasing the DTAB/4EOCOONa molar ratio and/or concentration, the DTAB/4EOCOONa mixtures gradually form the complexes of 4EOCOO(DTA)₁^3-, 4EOCOO(DTA)₂^2-, 4EOCOO(DTA)₃^-, 4EOCOO(DTA)₄, and 4EOCOO(DTA)₆²⁺, and the corresponding aggregates are small anionic micelles with loose molecular packing, and nearly nonionic or positively charged small micelles with more compact packing. Moreover, the positive charge of the small micelles increases with the increase of the concentration and the DTAB/4EOCOONa molar ratio. Therefore, constructing oligomeric-like surfactants by adding appropriate organic salts into conventional surfactants is a convenient method to achieve desired properties of surfactant aggregates.

Unusual nanosized associates of carboxy-calix[4]resorcinarene and cetylpyridinium chloride: the macrocycle as a glue for surfactant micelles

The association of cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) micelles in the presence of octaacetated tetraphenyleneoxymethylcalix[4]resorcinarene (CR) leads to the formation of unusual spherical supramolecular nanoparticles (SNPs). Within the range of CR/CPC molar ratios from 10/1 to 1/10 (except for 1/8), CR, acting as a counterion, decreases the critical micelle concentration of CPC by one order of magnitude and leads to the formation of SNPs with an average hydrodynamic radius of 164 nm and an average zeta potential of -60 mV. The formation of SNPs was studied by NMR FT-PGSE and 2D NOESY, DLS, TEM, fluorimetry, and UV-Vis methods. The stability of SNPs at different temperatures and pH values and in the presence of electrolytes was investigated. The specificity of the interactions of the SNPs with substrates that were preferentially bound by a macrocycle or CPC micelle was studied. The enhancement of cation dye binding in the presence of SNPs is shown. The presented supramolecular system may serve as a nanocapsule for water-soluble and water-insoluble compounds.

Size Switchable Supramolecular Nanoparticle Based on Azobenzene Derivative within Anionic Pillar[5]arene

A photo/thermal-switchable supramolecular nanoparticles assembly has been constructed based on an inclusion complex between anionic pillar[5]arene 2C-WP5A and azobenzene derivative Azo-py-OMe (G). The novel anionic pillar[5]arene-based host-guest inclusion complexation was investigated by the ¹H NMR titration, 2D ROESY and isothermal titration microcalorimetry (ITC) showing high association constant (K_a) of (2.60 ± 0.06) × 10⁴ M⁻¹ with 1:1 binding stoichiometry. Furthermore, the supramolecular nanoparticles assembly can be conveniently obtained from G and a small amount of 2C-WP5A in aqueous solution, which was so-called “host induced aggregating (HIA)”. The size and morphology of the supramolecular nanoparticles assembly were characterized by TEM and DLS. As a result of the photo/thermal-isomerization of G included in the cavity of 2C-WP5A, the size of these nanoparticles could reversibly change from ~800 nm to ~250 nm, which could switch the solution of this assembly from turbid to clear.

Exploring the charged nature of supramolecular micelles based on p-sulfonatocalix[6]arene and dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide

Kinetic probes were used together with capillary electrophoresis experiments to get insights into the interfacial and solubilizing properties of supramolecular micelles made of an anionic calix[6]arene and a cationic surfactant.