A novel and efficient Cu(OAc) ₂ -mediated oxysulfonylation of alkenyl oximes with sodium sulfonates was developed. The reactions are easy to conduct, occur under mild conditions, and form a broad range of sulfone-substituted isoxazolines in good yields.

Owing to its spatiotemporal selectivity and noninvasive nature, photodynamic therapy (PDT) has become a promising approach for the treatment of cancer. However, the non-targeting capability and the accompanying side effects of PDT as well as the low solubility/stability of photosensitizers (PSs) seriously limit its further development. In recent years, host–guest interaction based supramolecular chemistry has attracted more and more attention benefiting from its distinctive properties to introduce macrocyclic hosts including cyclodextrins (CDs), calix[n]arenes (CAs), cucurbit[n]urils (CBs), pillar[n]arenes (PAs), crown ethers, etc. into supramolecular systems, without multiple synthesis steps and complicated purification processes. In particular, supramolecular PDT systems constructed based on macrocylic hosts and PSs through host–guest interactions provide ideal platforms to overcome the limitations of PDT effectively. In this review, recent achievements made in supramolecular PDT systems based on host–guest interactions are comprehensively overviewed, which are categorized into four sections according to the types of macrocyclic hosts. Furthermore, supramolecular PDT combined with other treatments for synergistic therapy is well elucidated. In addition, challenges and perspectives of new supramolecular PDT systems and their potential clinical application are also discussed at the end of the review.

Combination chemotherapy is still of great importance as part of the standard clinical care for patients with HER2 positive breast cancer. As an attractive component, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been extensively studied as biosafety nanomaterials, but they are rarely explored as drug nanocarriers for targeted co-delivery of multiple chemotherapeutics. Herein, a novel affibody-DNA hybrid strands modified AuNPs were fabricated for co-loading nucleoside analogue (5-fluorodeoxyuridine, FUdR) and anthracycline (doxorubicin, Dox). FUdRs were integrated into DNA hybrid strands decorated on AuNPs by DNA solid phase synthesis, and Dox molecules were intercalated into their duplex regions. Affibody molecules coupled to the DNA hybrid strands were distributed the surface of AuNPs, giving them targeting for HER2. The new dual-drug-containing affibody-DNA-AuNPs (Dox@affi-F/AuNPs) owned compact and stable spherical nanostructures, and precise drug loading. Cytotoxicity tests demonstrated that these nanoparticles caused a higher inhibition in HER2 overexpressing breast cancer cells, and showed better synergistic antitumor activity than simple mixture of the two drugs. The related mechanistic studies proved that Dox@affi-F/AuNPs achieved a remarkable combined antitumor activity of Dox and FUdR by promoting more cells to enter apoptosis pathway. Our work provided a nanomedicine platform for targeted co-delivery of nucleoside analog therapeutics and anthracycline anticancer drugs to achieve synergistic treatment of HER2⁺ cancer.