Phosphatase-responsive amphiphilic calixarene assembly

Abstract

A phosphatase-responsive supramolecular amphiphilic assembly was fabricated as an operationally targeted drug delivery carrier based on the host–guest complexation of amphiphilic calixarene with adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Remarkably, the complexation of calixarene with ATP lowers its critical aggregation concentration pronouncedly to form hollow spherical nanoparticles, which are identified by the combination of atomic force microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Moreover, the spherical assembly is efficiently responsive to phosphatase that is overexpressed in many tumor cells, and therefore the present system may have potential application in drug delivery systems.