(368bq) Development of Supramolecular Polymeric Pharmaceuticals through Self-Assembling Peptide-Camptothecin Conjugates

Research Interests: Drug delivery, Nanomedicine, Supramolecular polymers, Peptide drug conjugates, Immunotherapy

Nanostructured supramolecular polymers (SPs) are filamentous assemblies characterized by a high degree of internal order, with significant applications in regenerative medicine, drug delivery, and soft matter electronics. Despite progress in developing functional SPs, a significant challenge remains: creating robust assembly protocols that allow the incorporation of various functional units without compromising their supramolecular architecture. In this study, we introduce a robust method for the tubular assembly of camptothecin (CPT) analogues into functional SPs. We achieved this by covalently linking two CPT moieties to different short hydrophilic segments, including nonionic, cationic, anionic, and zwitterionic types. These CPT analogues self-assemble in water to form tubular SPs. Systemically administered nonionic SPs have demonstrated effective suppression of tumor growth. Additionally, these tubular SPs serve as universal dispersing agents for low-molecular-weight hydrophobes in aqueous environments.