Supramolecular nanostructures as drug carriers

Supramolecular nanostructures are well-defined nanoscale objects that are constructed by self-assembly of rationally designed or naturally occurring molecular building units. These non-covalently linked assemblies carry some advantageous features such as dynamic and stimulus-responsive structures for interfacing with biological systems and particularly for use as drug carriers. In this brief review, we examine several recent examples on the use of discrete supramolecular nanostructures as drug carriers, and discuss the key challenges in optimizing such self-assembling systems for improved treatments of cancer.