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Sun et al. Chem Synth 2023;3:16 Chemical Synthesis
DOI: 10.20517/cs.2022.45

Review Open Access

Host-guest assemblies for improved photothermal

cancer therapy

Xiaohuan Sun, Qianyun Ye, Jinfeng Zhou, Jie Han, Rong Guo
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225002, Jiangsu, China.

*Correspondence to: Prof. Jie Han, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Yangzhou University, No. 180,
Siwangting Road, Yangzhou 225002, Jiangsu, China. E-mail: hanjie@yzu.edu.cn

How to cite this article: Sun X, Ye Q, Zhou J, Han J, Guo R. Host-guest assemblies for improved photothermal cancer therapy.
Chem Synth 2023;3:16. https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/cs.2022.45

Received: 30 Dec 2022 First Decision: 1 Feb 2023 Revised: 16 Feb 2023 Accepted: 6 Mar 2023 Published: 22 Mar 2023

Academic Editor: Bao-Lian Su Copy Editor: Yanbin Bai Production Editor: Yanbin Bai

Abstract
Photothermal cancer therapy has attracted plenty of attention in the last decades due to its promising efficacy,
spatiotemporal control, negligible drug resistance, etc. However, to achieve widespread clinical application, studies
in the field of photothermal therapy still need to focus on the improvement of efficacy and the minimization of side
effects. Host-guest assemblies, constructed by the inclusion of small molecular guests into macrocyclic hosts
through non-covalent interactions, are featured with unique microenvironments and flexible, dynamic nature.
Based on the abovementioned advantages, host-guest assemblies show great potential in photothermal therapy.
However, presumably, the endeavors of host-guest assemblies-based photothermal therapy have not been
systematically discussed. Hence, to benefit the design of advanced host-guest assembly-based photothermal
agents and promote the development of photothermal therapy, in this review, the major achievements of host-
guest assemblies in photothermal cancer therapy, including the enhancement of photothermal conversion
efficiency, the improvement of targeted distribution at tumor sites, and the superiority of constructing
photothermal therapy-derived multimodal synergistic therapy, are discussed. In addition, the future perspectives
on host-guest assemblies-based photothermal therapy are outlined.

Keywords: Photothermal therapy, host-guest assembly, stimuli-responsive, photothermal conversion efficiency,
synergistic therapy

© The Author(s) 2023. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
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