Construction of Supramolecular Systems That Achieve Lifelike Functions

Hydrogels in Gene Delivery Techniques for Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Engineering

Hydrogels are 3D networks swollen with water. They are biocompatible, strong, and moldable and are emerging as a promising biomedical material for regenerative medicine and tissue engineering to deliver therapeutic genes. The excellent natural extracellular matrix simulation properties of hydrogels enable them to be co-cultured with cells or enhance the expression of viral or non-viral vectors. Its biocompatibility, high strength, and degradation performance also make the action process of carriers in tissues more ideal, making it an ideal biomedical material. It has been shown that hydrogel-based gene delivery technologies have the potential to play therapy-relevant roles in organs such as bone, cartilage, nerve, skin, reproductive organs, and liver in animal experiments and preclinical trials. This paper reviews recent articles on hydrogels in gene delivery and explains the manufacture, applications, developmental timeline, limitations, and future directions of hydrogel-based gene delivery techniques.

An in situ protonation-activated supramolecular self-assembly for selective suppression of tumor growth

An in situ supramolecular self-assembly in the subcellular organelles could provide a new strategy to treat diseases. Herein, we report a protonation-activated in situ supramolecular self-assembly system in the lysosomes, which could destabilize the lysosome membrane, resulting in the selective suppression of cancer cells. In this system, pyridyl-functionalized tetraphenylethylene (TPE-Py) was protonated in the lysosomes of A549 lung cancer cells to form octahedron-like structures with cucurbit[8]uril (CB[8]), which impaired the integrity of the lysosome membrane, resulting in selective suppression of cancer cells. Moreover, its anticancer efficiency was also systematically evaluated in vivo, triggering the apoptosis of tumor tissues with ignorable effects on normal organs. Overall, the protonation-activated self-assembly in the lysosomes based on the host-guest complexation would provide a method for novel anti-cancer systems.