Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs)-an emerging class of hybrid porous materials built from metal ions or clusters bridged by organic linkers-have attracted increasing attention in recent years. The superior properties of MOFs, such as well-defined pore aperture, tailorable composition and structure, tunable size, versatile functionality, high agent loading, and improved biocompatibility, make them promising candidates as drug delivery hosts. Furthermore, scientists have made remarkable achievements in the field of nanomedical applications of MOFs, owing to their facile synthesis on the nanoscale and alternative functionalization via inclusion and surface chemistry. A brief introduction to the applications of MOFs in controlled drug/cargo delivery and cancer therapy that have been reported in recent years is provided here.

Accurate optical reporting of electrical activity in genetically defined neuronal populations is a long-standing goal in neuroscience. Here we describe Accelerated Sensor of Action Potentials 1 (ASAP1), a novel voltage sensor design in which a circularly permuted green fluorescent protein is inserted within an extracellular loop of a voltage-sensing domain, rendering fluorescence responsive to membrane potential. ASAP1 demonstrates on- and off- kinetics of 2.1 and 2.0 ms, reliably detects single action potentials and subthreshold potential changes, and tracks trains of action potential waveforms up to 200 Hz in single trials. With a favorable combination of brightness, dynamic range, and speed, ASAP1 enables continuous monitoring of membrane potential in neurons at KHz frame rates using standard epifluorescence microscopy.

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles, capable of storing a payload of small molecules and releasing it following specific catalytic activation by an esterase, have been designed and fabricated. The storage and release of the payload is controlled by the presence of [2]rotaxanes, which consist of tri(ethylene glycol) chains threaded by α-cyclodextrin tori, located on the surfaces of the nanoparticles and terminated by a large stoppering group. These modified silica nanoparticles are capable of encapsulating guest molecules when the [2]rotaxanes are present. The bulky stoppers, which serve to hold the tori in place, are stable under physiological conditions but are cleaved by the catalytic action of an enzyme, causing dethreading of the tori and release of the guest molecules from the pores of the nanoparticles. These snap-top covered silica nanocontainers (SCSNs) are prepared by a modular synthetic method, in which the stoppering unit, incorporated in the final step of the synthesis, may be changed at will to target the response of the system to any of a number of hydrolytic enzymes. Here, the design, synthesis, and operation of model SCSNs that open in the presence of porcine liver esterase (PLE) are reported. The empty pores of the silica nanoparticles were loaded with luminescent dye molecules (rhodamine B), and stoppering units that incorporate adamantyl ester moieties were then attached in the presence of α-cyclodextrin using the copper-catalyzed azide−alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC), closing the SCSNs. The release of rhodamine-B from the pores of the SCSN, following PLE-mediated hydrolysis of the stoppers, was monitored using fluorescence spectroscopy.

CONSPECTUS: For device miniaturization, nanotechnology follows either the "top-down" approach scaling down existing larger-scale devices or the "bottom-up' approach assembling the smallest possible building blocks to functional nanoscale entities. For synthetic nanodevices, self-assembly on surfaces is a superb method to achieve useful functions and enable their interactions with the surrounding world. Consequently, adaptability and responsiveness to external stimuli are other prerequisites for their successful operation. Mechanically interlocked molecules such as rotaxanes and catenanes, and their precursors, that is, molecular switches and supramolecular switches including pseudorotaxanes, are molecular machines or prototypes of machines capable of mechanical motion induced by chemical signals, biological inputs, light or redox processes as the external stimuli. Switching of these functional host-guest systems on surfaces becomes a fundamental requirement for artificial molecular machines to work, mimicking the molecular machines in nature, such as proteins and their assemblies operating at dynamic interfaces such as the surfaces of cell membranes. Current research endeavors in material science and technology are focused on developing either a new class of materials or materials with novel/multiple functionalities by shifting host-guest chemistry from solution phase to surfaces. In this Account, we present our most recent attempts of building monolayers of rotaxanes/pseudorotaxanes on surfaces, providing stimuli-induced macroscopic effects and further understanding on the switchable host-guest systems at interfaces. Biocompatible versions of molecular machines based on synthetic macrocycles, such as cucurbiturils, pillararenes, calixarenes, and cyclodextrins, have been employed to form self-assembled monolayers of gates on the surfaces of mesoporous silica nanoparticles to regulate the controlled release of cargo/drug molecules under a range of external stimuli, such as light, pH variations, competitive binding, and enzyme. Rotaxanes have also been assembled onto the surfaces of gold nanodisks and microcantilevers to realize active molecular plasmonics and synthetic molecular actuators for device fabrication and function. Pillararenes have been successfully used to control and aid the synthesis of gold nanoparticles, semiconducting quantum dots, and magnetic nanoparticles. The resulting organic-inorganic hydrid nanomaterials have been successfully used for controlled self-assembly, herbicide sensing and detection, pesticide removal, and so forth, taking advantage of the selective binding of pillarenes toward target molecules. Cyclodextrins have also been successfully functionalized onto the surface of gold nanoparticles to serve as recycling extractors for C60. Many interesting prototypes of nanodevices based on synthetic macrocycles and their host-guest chemistry have been constructed and served for different potential applications. This Account will be a summary of the efforts made mainly by us, and others, o...