Bioinspired systems in supramolecular chemistry and nanotechnology – introducing the SupraBio themed issue

There are numerous recent contributions in the field of supramolecular systems at the biological interface. It is undeniable that biomedical and biotechnological applications using these systems take advantage of their complex supramolecular chemistry and unique features. Investigating the self-assembly of bioinspired and biological molecules at the nanoscale has revealed unprecedented properties and functionalities. For example, the supramolecular organization of bioinspired and/or biological molecules offers alternative routes for the fabrication of nano-objects. Recent advances in such systems are affording significant progress in molecular sensing, controlled release, signaling, etc. and new developments in numerous fields ranging from soft materials to medicinal chemistry. A myriad of supramolecular assemblies featuring natural and/or synthetic molecules are now available.

Hence, a forum to discuss the evolution of such advanced materials is more than welcome, and this was the theme of the fourth international meeting on bioinspired systems in supramolecular chemistry and nanotechnology (SupraBio). Ten years ago, the first meeting entitled “DNA supramolecular assemblies” was held in Avignon, France accompanied by a special topic article published in Pure and Applied Chemistry.¹ A second meeting was organized two years later in October 2006 at the European Institute of Chemistry and Biology of Bordeaux and was entitled “Recent Advances in Supramolecular Assemblies with Nucleic Acids.” The third meeting, which was organized in Bordeaux at the Centre de Recherche Paul Pascal (CRPP) in October 2010 allowed the extension of the initial discussions (mainly dedicated to nucleic acids) to different biomolecules, including nucleic acids, polysaccharides and peptides. The aim of the fourth meeting held in Cassis (13–14th June 2013, French Riviera, France) was to highlight some of the most recent advances in the field. This meeting gathered renowned international speakers who presented original results and progress in this fascinating area. Based on the large number of participants, and lively questions and comments during this meeting, the success of SupraBio 2013 was recognized. Participants praised the outstanding quality of the oral program, discussions and exchanges of ideas, as well as the different themes and high level of organization. These activities led to new projects and collaborations between the participants.

New Journal of Chemistry (CNRS and RSC Publishing) has always published very high quality manuscripts in supramolecular chemistry, and so it was apparent to us that this RSC flagship journal would be the right home for a themed issue. We have been very pleased and surprised by the response of the community. The original publications (17 contributions as Papers, Letters, Perspectives, and Focus reviews) collected for this issue reflect the scope of bioinspired systems in supramolecular chemistry and nanotechnology (SupraBio) today.

In this themed issue, the self-assembly properties of lipids are covered by J. P. Douliez in a Focus review on foam/vesicles (DOI: 10.1039/C4NJ00914B). Lipidic spherulites as imaging contrast agents are reported in an original article by S. Crauste-Manciet and D. Scherman (DOI: 10.1039/C4NJ00571F).

The active field of DNA molecules is also discussed. In their Letter, A. Arbuzova and coworkers describe the DNA-controlled aggregation of virus-like particles (DOI: 10.1039/C4NJ00724G). In another contribution, E. Stulz and colleagues discuss the EPR spectroscopy of Cu-porphyrin–DNA conjugates (DOI: 10.1039/C4NJ00673A). Hybrid molecules involving lipids and nucleic acids are presented and described in several contributions, including nucleolipids as building blocks for the synthesis of nanoparticles (K. Oumzil et al., DOI: 10.1039/C4NJ00559G), the self-assembly properties of clofarabine lipids (D. Berti et al., DOI: 10.1039/C4NJ00856A), and lipid–oligonucleotide conjugates by A. Gissot et al. (DOI: 10.1039/C4NJ00850B).

Besides the hybrid molecules, a Perspective review written by C. Safinya et al. covers the topic of nucleic acids interacting with cationic lipids (DOI: 10.1039/C4NJ01314J). These complexes form suitable particles for gene delivery and gene silencing, similar to the polyethyleneimine (PEI)-based gene vectors described by W. Dong and colleagues (DOI: 10.1039/C4NJ00699B.) In this field, one will note the paper on aminoglycoside clusters with gene delivery capabilities by J. L. Jimenez-Blanco (DOI: 10.1039/C4NJ00700J).

Several papers focus on supramolecular systems and nanoparticles. Thus, supramolecular devices involving guanosine and isoguanosine derivatives are presented in a Focus review by Rodriguez et al. (DOI: 10.1039/C4NJ00665H), whereas a reversible supramolecular assembly containing ionic interactions and disulfide linkages is reported by M. W. Grinstaff and colleagues (DOI: 10.1039/C4NJ00895B). The potential of dendritic molecules as organic coatings for metal oxide nanoparticles is discussed by D. Felder-Flesch and colleagues (DOI: 10.1039/C4NJ00654B). K. Ariga presents the latest advances and progress in bioinspired nanosystems for drug delivery applications in a Perspective review (DOI: 10.1039/C4NJ00864B).

The field of bioelectrochemical applications is covered by a Perspective review on the supramolecular immobilization of bio-entities by S. Cosnier and colleagues (DOI: 10.1039/C4NJ00755G).

Compartmentalized chemistry is discussed in a Focus review (P. Urban, DOI: 10.1039/C4NJ00894D). In their original paper, J. Brasun and colleagues report on the impact of two tripeptide motifs on the formation of di-copper complexes (DOI: 10.1039/C4NJ00689E).

The high quality of the publications collected for this themed issue reflects the spirit and excitement of the meeting. Moreover, it highlights the fact that bioinspired and biological systems in supramolecular chemistry is a field that lies at the forefront of current research in chemistry. We sincerely hope that the reader will enjoy this collection of articles and draw inspiration for their own work. We thank all of the contributors and reviewers for their valuable time and input into this project.

References

1. P. Barthélémy, S. J. Lee and M. W. Grinstaff, Pure Appl. Chem., 2005, 77(12), 2133–2148.

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