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Photosensitive supramolecular micelles, a combination of intermolecular hydrogen bonds between complementary adenine (A) and uracil (U) groups and a blend of two types of supramolecular polymers, can stably self-assemble into structurally stable, spherical micelles in aqueous solution before and after photoirradiation. The resulting micelles possess unique amphiphilic properties, photo-induced tunable phase-transition behavior, excellent biocompatibility, well-controlled spherical morphology, and can be tailored in size. Moreover, the drug content and entrapment efficiency can be finely tuned, and release kinetics can be modulated using combinations of changes in temperature and photoirradiation, making these micelles highly addictive as drug nanocarriers. Importantly, cytotoxicity assays and flow cytometric analyses confirmed that drug-loaded irradiated micelles exerted more potent cytotoxic effects against cancer cells and exhibited much higher cellular uptake efficiency than the free drug and drug-loaded nonirradiated micelles, indicating that the drug-loaded irradiated micelles rapidly entered the tumor cells to induce massive cell death. Therefore, this newly-developed supramolecular system could serve as a safe, efficient nanocarrier to effectively inhibit the growth and spread of primary tumors.

Traditional plant remedies are still the most important sources of therapeutics for most of the developing world populations [1]. In Ethiopia, traditional medicine has played a significant role in treating different public health problems [2][3][4][5][6]. Recent reports revealed that about 80% of the Ethiopian populations still depend on traditional medicinal plants to fulfill their primary healthcare needs [7,8], largely due to its cultural acceptability, economic affordability and efficacy against certain types of disease as compared to modern medicine [9]. However, the plants and the associated indigenous knowledge in the country are gradually being depleted because of environmental degradation, deforestation, lack of documentation and potential acculturation, which in turn brought about the loss of some important medicinal plants [5,10,11].Similar to other cultural groups in Ethiopia, traditional medicinal plants play a vital role in the primary healthcare system of the Amhara Region, Ethiopia. However, only few attempts made to scientifically document and analyze the ethnomedicinal knowledge and the associated plants in the Region [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. So far, no such study been conducted in Enarj Enawga District, Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Thus, the aim of the present study was to gather and document data on the use of medicinal plant remedies, the indigenous knowledge and practices of the traditional healers and the threats currently affecting medicinal plants in Enarj Enawga District.

We report a significant breakthrough in the development of complementary hydrogen-bonded drug-carrier systems, namely the construction of self-assembled nanoparticles with desirable functionalities conferred by the presence of stable complementary uracil–adenine...

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