Dynamic self-assembly of mannosylated-calix[4]arene into micelles for the delivery of hydrophobic drugs.

Carbohydrate-lectin interactions and glycol-molecule-driven self-assembly are powerful yet challenging strategies to create supramolecular nanostructures for biomedical applications. Herein, we develop a modular approach of micellization with a small molecular mannosylated-calix[4]arene synthetic core, CA-Man3, to generate nano-micelles, CA-Man3-NPs, which can target cancer cell surface receptors and facilitate the delivery of hydrophobic cargo. The oligomeric nature of the calix[4]arene enables the dynamic self-assembly of calix[4]arene (CA), where an amphiphile, functionalized with mannose units (CA-glycoconjugates) in the upper rim and alkylated lower rim, afforded the CA-Man3-NPs in a controllable manner.

Elucidating a Thermoresponsive Multimodal Photo-Chemotherapeutic Nanodelivery Vehicle to Overcome the Barriers of Doxorubicin Therapy.

In an attempt to circumvent the major pitfalls associated with conventional chemotherapy including drug resistance and off-target toxicity, we have adopted a strategy to simultaneously target both mitochondrial DNA (Mt-DNA) and nuclear DNA (n-DNA) with the aid of a targeted theranostic nanodelivery vehicle (TTNDV). Herein, folic acid-anchored -sulfo-calix[4]arene (SC)-capped hollow gold nanoparticles (HGNPs) were meticulously loaded with antineoplastic doxorubicin (Dox) and its mitochondrion-targeted analogue, Mt-Dox, in a pretuned ratio (1:100) for sustained thermoresponsive release of cargo. This therapeutic strategy was enabled to eradicate both n-DNA and Mt-DNA leaving no space to develop drug resistance.

Calix[4]arene Based Redox Sensitive Molecular Probe for SERS Guided Recognition of Labile Iron Pool in Tumor Cells.

Targeting the intracellular "labile" iron pool is turned as a key modulator for cancer progression since the former is responsible for several pathological processes in tumor cells. Herein, we report a nonfluorescent calix[4]arene based triazole appended molecular probe (PTBC) for redox-specific detection of Fe under physiological condition by UV-vis, FT-IR, H NMR, HR-MS spectroscopies, ITC, and the binding strategy between Calix[4]arene and Fe was modeled by DFT calculations. As a new insight PTBC probe showed significant Raman fingerprint through surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) modality revealing the ultrasensitive detection of Fe with a LOD of 2 nM.