Successively-responsive drug-carrier vesicles assembled by ‘supramolecular amphiphiles’ Original Research Article

Novel vesicles assembled by ‘supramolecular amphiphiles’ based on the inclusion complexes between 1 and β-CDs (β-CD and HP-β-CD) were found to carry drugs and be successively-responsive to external stimuli for the first time. These vesicles were observed by TEM and SEM and confirmed by DLS. The formation patterns of ‘supramolecular amphiphiles’ characterized by UV and NMR can be controlled by choosing different hosts. Unlike traditional drug delivery and releasing systems, the ‘useless’ inclusion complexes 1·β-CDs in thinking formula can assemble into vesicles to carry both cytotoxic 1 and drugs (piroxicam and ampicillin) at one time, confirmed by TEM, UV, and NMR data. Also the vesicles assembled by 1·β-CDs can be successively-responsive to acidifying and oxidizing, and release drugs and cytotoxic compounds in order.