Construction and Assembly Kinetics of Amino Acid-Iron Nano-assemblies

We employed supramolecular interactions to fabricate amino acid-iron nano-assemblies using beta -iron hydroxide oxide as the building block. The dynamics of assembly at various temperatures was investigated, shedding light on how temperature influences the nucleation, growth, and assembly processes. By optimizing the assembly conditions, a shuttle-shaped nano-assembly with a length of 179.1 nm and a width of 36.1 nm was successfully prepared, featuring a total iron(Fe) content of 49.6%, with complex Fe accounting for 32.1%. Cell experiments demonstrated that this unique amino acid-iron nano-assembly could be efficiently uptaken by human bladder transitional cell carcinoma T24 cells and inhibited their proliferation, with a half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 163.8 mu g/mL. These findings suggest that the nano-assembly possesses excellent tumor therapeutic potential and holds significant promise for research in the field of nanomedicine.