Talos 200s system

A solution of
M1 or M2 (1 mM) in water was prepared from a stock solution (100 mM
in DMSO) at pH 7 and sonicated for 10 min. These solutions were diluted
to 500, and 10 μL of the diluted solution was plated on a copper
grid and allowed to adsorb for 5 min. Curcumin-containing assemblies
(cur–M1_agg or cur–M2_agg) prepared
as described above were also plated on TEM grids using a similar protocol.
The excess liquid was removed using a tissue paper. The samples were
stained with 10 μL of 0.3% phosphotungstic acid, dried in a
desiccator, and imaged using an FEI Talos 200S system equipped with
a 200 kV FEG.

Chemicals
were purchased from commercial
suppliers such as Sigma-Aldrich, Alfa Aesar, and Spectrochem and used
without further purification. Curcumin powder (95%) and doxorubicin
hydrochloride were purchased from Alfa Aesar and TCI Chemicals, respectively.
Syntheses were performed in clean, oven-dry glassware. The progress
of the reactions was monitored using a silica TLC plate coated with
F₂₅₄ for visualization under UV. NMR spectra were recorded
on a Bruker 400 or 500 MHz instrument and chemical shifts were reported
in ppm. The chemical shifts were calibrated to the residual proton
and carbon resonances of the solvent: D₂O (¹H δ 4.79 ppm), CDCl₃ (¹H δ 7.26
ppm; ¹³C δ 77.16 ppm), and DMSO-d₆ (¹H δ 2.50 ppm; ¹³C δ
39.52 ppm). HRMS analysis was performed on a Bruker Daltonics micrOTOF-Q-II
mass spectrometer. Melting points were recorded on a digital melting
point apparatus. The assembly size was measured on a Delsa Nano (Beckman
Coulter) using the CONTIN algorithm at 25 °C. TEM imaging was
performed using an FEI Talos 200S system equipped with a 200 kV field
emission gun (FEG). UV–vis spectra were recorded on an Agilent
spectrophotometer with Cary Win software and fluorescence spectra
were recorded on Horiba Fluorolog spectrofluorometer.