Supramolecular nanoparticles are biomimetic, responsive and powerful materials for biomedical applications. When the control over a stimuli-responsive host-guest complex is incorporated in nanoparticles, this can be used for encapsulation and targeted release of growth factors and other agents. The cavity of cucurbit[8]uril (CB8) handcuffs methylviologen and the light-responsive trans-azobenzene in a stable 1:1:1 ternary complex.1 Modifying these guests with a hydrophobic and a hydrophilic tail respectively, the ternary complex becomes an amphiphile (Azo-EG4:CB8:MV-C12). This supramolecular amphiphile self-assembles in light responsive hollow nanoparticles with a biologically relevant size of about 200 nm. Moreover, the nanoparticles void has been loaded with a cargo protein and the external leaflet of the nanoparticles has been functionalized with a targeting unit via host-guest chemistry. The targeting unit has been incorporated by simply adding small quantities of an azobenzene bearing the tripeptide arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (Azo-RGD) as a recognition site for the integrin receptors on the cell surface. In such a way, the nanoparticles have been selectively interacted with cells and a teal fluorescent protein (TFP) has been selectively delivered to living cells. 1. Feng Tian, Dezhi Jiao, Frank Biedermann, Oren A. Scherman: Orthogonal switching of a single supramolecular complex. Nature Communications. 2012, 3, 1207.

Light responsive supramolecular nanoparticles

251st National Meeting (2016)

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