Supramolecular self-assembly based on noncovalent interactions is considered
as a key strategy for introducing intracellular synthetic biocompatible
macromolecules. The synthetic macromolecules resemble the nature, behavior,
and function of biomacromolecules in living systems.
The in cellulo self-assembled macromolecules can overcome and avoid
complicated biological reactions in living cells to enhance feasibility of
controlling overall cellular function and behaviors.
Researchers from the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology (SIAT) of the
Chinese Academy of Sciences reviewed recent progress in applications and
strategies that induced the intracellular supramolecular self-assembly of
macromolecules with different topological structures as theranostic
nanosystems in the fields of cancer treatment and bioimaging.
The review was published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition on Jan.
17.
The strategies included host-guest interaction, enzyme, pH, temperature,
intracellular polymerization, and free radical polymerization induced
self-assembly. They were motivated by external stimuli or internal,
disordered, and harsh conditions in tumor cells, and were mainly utilized in
abstracting the in cellulo biomacromolecules like polyamine, adenosine
triphosphate, biolabeling, and bioimaging.
Tumor cells have a disordered environment of the overexpressed pH, reactive
oxygen species, and enzymes, which was utilized as a prominent tool inducing
in cellulo supramolecular self-assembly. External stimuli like temperature
effect, photoinitiation free radical polymerization, and in cellulo harsh
conditions introduced synthetic macromolecules with different topological
structures like nanoparticles, gel, and coils to induce the bioimaging and
the death of cancer cells.
Moreover, the physical liquid-liquid phase separation was utilized to
construct the endogenous self-assembled macromolecules called membraneless
organelles. These subcellular organelles are used widely to abstract the
intracellular biomacromolecules like enzymes to induce cancer death.
The study also reported that molecular tweezers could be used widely in the
future. Molecular tweezers are a class of cyclic molecules containing two
binding arms to adapt to specific guest molecules, mainly used as a
biosensor, synthetic receptor, and drug delivery system for pharmaceutical
applications. However, there are few studies for its application in living
cells at present.
Reference:
Mohamed Dergham et al, Supramolecular Self‐assembly in Living Cells,
Angewandte Chemie International Edition (2022).
DOI: 10.1002/anie.202114267