A Supramolecular Vesicle Based on the Complexation of p‐Sulfonatocalixarene with Protamine and its Trypsin‐Triggered Controllable‐Release Properties

Abstract

Enzyme-responsive assembly represents one of the increasingly significant topics in biomaterials research and finds feasible applications to the controlled release of therapeutic agents at specific sites at which the target enzymes are located. In this work, based on the concept of host-guest chemistry, a trypsin-responsive supramolecular vesicle using p-sulfonatocalix[4]arene as the macrocyclic host and natural serine protease trypsin-cleavable cationic protein protamine as the guest molecule, is reported. The complexation of p-sulfonatocalix[4]arene with protamine directs the formation of a supramolecular binary vesicle, which is dissipated by trypsin with high selectivity. Therefore, the present system represents a principle-of-concept to build a controlled-release carrier at trypsin-overexpressed sites.