Tumor polyamines as guest cues attract host-functionalized liposomes for targeting and hunting via a bio-orthogonal supramolecular strategy

Inspired by the attractions of fruit flies to polyamines of rotten food, we developed a facile, bio-orthogonal, supramolecular homing and hunting strategy, relying on the elevated levels of polyamines in tumor as the natural guest cues to attract cucurbit [7] uril (CB[7]) functionalized liposomes to the tumor site, owing to the strong, bio-orthogonal host-guest interactions between CB[7] and polyamines. This supramolecular homing enabled a high targeting efficiency of CB[7] functionalized liposomes, and allowed better tissue penetration and retention in breast tumor. The employment of a receptor functionalized nanomedicine for direct tropism towards endogenous biomarkers as guest cues, reminiscent of natural chemotaxis but in a bio-orthogonal manner, has not been previously reported, offering new sights to the design and development of new nanoformulations that rely on bio-orthogonal interactions for chemotaxis-guided targeting.