Photoresponsive glyco-nanostructures integrated from supramolecular metallocarbohydrates for the reversible capture and release of lectins

• Published in: Polymer chemistry Vol. 12; no. 21; pp. 396 - 314
• Main Authors: Bi, Feihu, Zhang, Changwei, Yang, Guang, Wang, Jie, Zheng, Wei, Hua, Zan, Li, Xiaopeng, Wang, Zhongkai, Chen, Guosong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge Royal Society of Chemistry 07.06.2021
• Subjects: Affinity; Azo compounds; Carbohydrates; Galactose; Lectins; Ligands; Light irradiation; Molecular structure; Nanostructure; Organometallic compounds; Orthogonality; Peanuts; Peptides; Polymer chemistry; Proteins; Self-assembly; Stability
• ISSN: 1759-9954; 1759-9962
• DOI: 10.1039/d1py00146a

The development of smart and controllable multivalent systems, which enable us to control interactions at the biological system-artificial material interface, is of great scientific and technological interest. In this work, we reported the construction of well-defined and photoreversible supramolecular glyco-nanostructures with switchable multivalent affinity, achieving the selective capture and release of proteins in response to light. Firstly, a new family of photoreversible supramolecular metallocarbohydrates containing precise metallacycles as cores was successfully prepared through the orthogonality of coordination-driven self-assembly and host-guest interactions between cucurbit[8]uril (CB[8]) and azobenzene. These metallocarbohydrates were found to further hierarchically self-assemble into well-defined glyco-vesicles or glyco-rods, depending on the molecular architectures of metallocarbohydrates. Interestingly, the resultant glyco-nanostructures exhibited photoresponsive behaviors under light irradiation at different wavelengths. Moreover, the high density of carbohydrate ligands on the glyco-nanostructures' surface leads to high-affinity binding to lectins by virtue of the specific ligand-receptor interaction between carbohydrates and lectins. In the case of the galactose system investigated, the selective capture of peanut agglutinin (PNA) was demonstrated. More importantly, the glyco-assemblies were able to photoinduce fully reversible transition from high affinity to low affinity due to the inherent reversibility of host-guest interactions. The reversible transformation can effectively result in the light-controlled capture and release of proteins, which can be repeated for multiple cycles without obvious decay. Thus, these findings not only enrich the library of supramolecular metallocarbohydrates, but also provide a new avenue for the fabrication of smart supramolecular glyco-nanostructures, which have promising applications for the targeted and controllable delivery of therapeutic peptides and proteins. Photo-controllable capture and release of proteins by glyco-nanostructures.