Asymmetric Cyclodextrin-Dimer-Involved Nanoassemblies by Selective Host-Guest Interactions: Concentration-Dependent Morphology Evolution and Light-Regulated Biomedical Applications.

Supramolecular assembly has attracted significant attention and has been applied to various applications. Herein, a β-γ-CD dimer was synthesized to complex different guest molecules, including single-strand polyethylene glycol (PEG)-modified C (PEG-C), photothermal conversion reagent (IR780), and dexamethasone (Dexa), according to the complexation constant-dependent specific selectivity. Spherical or cylindrical nanoparticles, monolayer or bilayer vesicles, and bilayer fusion vesicles were discovered in succession if the concentration of PEG-C was varied. Moreover, if near-infrared light was employed to irradiate these nanoassemblies, the thermo-induced morphological evolution, subsequent cargo release, photothermal effect, and singlet oxygen (O) generation were successfully achieved. The in vitro cell experiments confirmed that these nanoparticles possessed excellent biocompatibility in a normal environment and achieved superior cytotoxicity by light regulation. Such proposed strategies for the construction of multilevel structures with different morphologies can open a new window to obtain various host-guest functional materials and achieve further use for disease treatment.