25th Anniversary Article: Supramolecular Materials for Regenerative Medicine

Abstract

In supramolecular materials, molecular building blocks are designed to interact with one another via non-covalent interactions in order to create function. This offers the opportunity to create structures similar to those found in living systems that combine order and dynamics through the reversibility of intermolecular bonds. For regenerative medicine there is a great need to develop materials that signal cells effectively, deliver or bind bioactive agents in vivo at controlled rates, have highly tunable mechanical properties, but at the same time, can biodegrade safely and rapidly after fulfilling their function. These requirements make supramolecular materials a great platform to develop regenerative therapies. This review illustrates the emerging science of these materials and their use in a number of applications for regenerative medicine.

Injectable biomimetic liquid crystalline scaffolds enhance muscle stem cell transplantation

“…These aPA scaffolds can be laden with protein growth factors to further enhance survival and expansion of MuSCs after delivery into either healthy or damaged muscle tissues further facilitating clinical translation. We believe that the scaffold's ability to bind and retain proteins also plays a role in allowing cell attachment to the scaffold's nanofibers since they do not contain cell-binding epitopes such as RGD (66). We also hypothesize that other sources of muscle stem and progenitor cells, including those obtained from embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells (56)(57)(58)(59), could benefit from transplantation with these biomimetic scaffolds.…”

Control over the Self‐Assembly Modes of PtII Complexes by Alkyl Chain Variation: From Slipped to Parallel π‐Stacks

“…[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] In order to achieve these functionalities, highlyordered, adaptive nanostructures formed via a cooperative supramolecular polymerization mechanism are highly desirable. 18 The introduction of orthogonal noncovalent interactions, 19 from which hydrogen bonding and combinations with other secondary interactions are by far the most exploited ones, 20 represents a rational means for this purpose.…”

Modulation of the cooperativity in the assembly of multistranded supramolecular polymers

“…[6][7][8] Some small synthetic molecules also undergo supramolecular polymerization to yield hydrogels that assemble and disassemble in response to external stimuli, 9,10 and are being developed for applications in controlled drug delivery 11,12 and tissue engineering. [13][14][15] Synthetic supramolecular polymers are also being exploited in nanofabrication, for the development of nanowires [16][17][18][19] or as components of artificial molecular machines. 20 For such applications, what is required are molecules that, like their biological counterparts, polymerize and de-polymerize in response to small environmental changes.…”