Macrocycle-Based Supramolecular Drug Delivery Systems: A Concise Review
Yanrui Yang,
Pengcheng Li,
Haibo Feng,
Rui Zeng,
Shanshan Li,
Qixiong Zhang
Affiliations
Yanrui Yang
College of Pharmacy, Key Laboratory of Research and Application of Ethnic Medicine Processing and Preparation on the Qinghai Tibet Plateau, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610041, China
Pengcheng Li
College of Pharmacy, Key Laboratory of Research and Application of Ethnic Medicine Processing and Preparation on the Qinghai Tibet Plateau, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610041, China
Haibo Feng
College of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610041, China
Rui Zeng
College of Pharmacy, Key Laboratory of Research and Application of Ethnic Medicine Processing and Preparation on the Qinghai Tibet Plateau, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610041, China
Shanshan Li
College of Pharmacy, Key Laboratory of Research and Application of Ethnic Medicine Processing and Preparation on the Qinghai Tibet Plateau, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610041, China
Qixiong Zhang
Department of Pharmacy, Personalized Drug Therapy Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Academy of Medical Science & Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610072, China
Efficient delivery of therapeutic agents to the lesion site or specific cells is an important way to achieve “toxicity reduction and efficacy enhancement”. Macrocycles have always provided many novel ideas for drug or gene loading and delivery processes. Specifically, macrocycles represented by crown ethers, cyclodextrins, cucurbit[n]urils, calix[n]arenes, and pillar[n]arenes have unique properties, which are different cavity structures, good biocompatibility, and good stability. Benefited from these diverse properties, a variety of supramolecular drug delivery systems can be designed and constructed to effectively improve the physical and chemical properties of guest molecules as needed. This review provides an outlook on the current application status and main limitations of macrocycles in supramolecular drug delivery systems.
