Open Access<p>Supramolecular Vesicles Based on Amphiphilic Pillar[n]arenes for Smart Nano-Drug Delivery</p>
Author(s) -
Yijie Hua,
Lan Chen,
Chenxi Hou,
Shengbo Liu,
Zhichao Pei,
Yuchao Lu
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
international journal of nanomedicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.245
H-Index - 128
eISSN - 1178-2013
pISSN - 1176-9114
DOI - 10.2147/ijn.s255637
Subject(s) - amphiphile , supramolecular chemistry , vesicle , pillar , drug delivery , nanotechnology , cationic polymerization , amphiphilic molecule , self assembly , materials science , chemistry , combinatorial chemistry , molecule , copolymer , organic chemistry , membrane , biochemistry , structural engineering , engineering , polymer
Supramolecular vesicles are the most popular smart nano-drug delivery systems (SDDs) because of their unique cavities, which have high loading carrying capacity and controlled-release action in response to specific stimuli. These vesicles are constructed from amphiphilic molecules via host-guest complexation, typically with targeted stimuli-responsive units, which are particularly important in biotechnology and biomedicine applications. Amphiphilic pillar[n]arenes, which are novel and functional macrocyclic host molecules, have been widely used to construct supramolecular vesicles because of their intrinsic rigid and symmetrical structure, electron-rich cavities and excellent properties. In this review, we first explain the synthesis of three types of amphiphilic pillar[n]arenes: neutral, anionic and cationic pillar[n]arenes. Second, we examine supramolecular vesicles composed of amphiphilic pillar[n]arenes recently used for the construction of SDDs. In addition, we describe the prospects for multifunctional amphiphilic pillar[n]arenes, particularly their potential in novel applications.