Cucurbituril-Based Porphyrin Cascade Assembly for Cell Imaging and Targeted Drug Delivery

Supramolecular assemblies based on multiple host–guest interactions have aroused widespread interest in the fabrication of innovative biomaterials. In this work, a combinational nanosupramolecule is constructed by an orthogonal two-step self-assembling process. The generation efficiency of reactive oxygen species and fluorescence emission intensity of pyridinium-appended porphyrin are greatly enhanced upon inclusion complexation with cucurbit[8]uril. Meanwhile, the introduction of β-cyclodextrin-grafted hyaluronic acid can facilitate the formation of secondary assemblies and endow them with the desired targeting ability toward cancer cells. After carrying doxorubicin hydrochloride as the loaded cargo, the resultant supramolecular nanoparticles exhibit much higher anticancer activity at the cellular level upon the near-infrared light irradiation. To be envisioned, such nanosupramolecular assemblies featuring both advantageous photodynamic and chemotherapeutic effects may be developed as more promising nanoplatforms for disease diagnosis and treatment.