The chemistry of aqueous salt solutions is rich with ambiguities, especially in stimuli-responsive supramolecular systems. Rational use of ion specificity to design supramolecular responsive materials, however, remains a challenging task. In this work, a low-molecular-weight supramolecular system was developed that was used to reveal the underlying systematic relationship between ions, water, and solutes. By utilizing these water-attenuated supramolecular forces (with K only ca. 30 m ), an alternative concept for fabricating an aqueous responsive system in ionic medium was demonstrated. This work not only provides mechanistic insight into the underdeveloped role of topology in ion specificity upon noncharged polar surfaces, but also demonstrates the feasibility of utilizing weak supramolecular approaches to control the thermoresponsiveness.

A new type of dynamic covalent macrocycle with self‐promoted supramolecular gelation behavior is developed. Under oxidative conditions, the dithiol compound containing a diamide alkyl linker with an odd number (7) of carbon chain and an appended crown ether shows a remarkable gelation ability in acetonitrile, without any template molecules. Due to the existence of crown ethers and disulfide bonds, the obtained gel shows a multiple stimuli‐responsiveness behavior. The mechanical properties and reversibility of the gel are investigated. Computational modeling suggests that the peripheral chain for diamide hydrogen bonding is responsible for the gelation process.

Mitochondria, a kind of subcellular organelle, play crucial roles in cancer cells as an energy source and as a generator of reactive substrates, which concern the generation, proliferation, drug resistance, and other functions of cancer. Therefore, precise delivery of anticancer agents to mitochondria can be a novel strategy for enhanced cancer treatment. Mitochondria have a four-layer structure with a high negative potential, which thereby prevents many molecules from reaching the mitochondria. Luckily, the advances in nanosystems have provided enormous hope to overcome this challenge. These nanosystems include liposomes, nanoparticles, and nanomicelles. Here, we summarize the very latest developments in mitochondria-targeting nanomedicines in cancer treatment as well as focus on designing multifunctional mitochondria-targeting nanosystems based on the latest nanotechnology.

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