Metal–Organic Frameworks as Intelligent Drug Nanocarriers for Cancer Therapy

Abstract

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are crystalline porous materials with periodic network structures formed by self–assembly of metal ions and organic ligands. Attributed to their tunable composition and pore size, ultrahigh surface area (1000–7000 m2/g) and pore volume (1.04–4.40 cm3/g), easy surface modification, appropriate physiological stability, etc., MOFs have been widely used in biomedical applications in the last two decades, especially for the delivery of bioactive agents. In the initial stage, MOFs were widely used to load small molecule drugs with ultra–high doses. Whereafter, more recent work has focused on the load of biomacromolecules, such as nucleic acids and proteins. Over the past years, we have devoted extensive effort to investigate the function of MOF materials for bioactive agent delivery. MOFs can be used not only as an intelligent nanocarrier to deliver or protect bioactive agents but also as an activator for their release or activation in response to the different microenvironments. Altogether, this review details the current progress of MOF materials for bioactive agent delivery and looks into their future development.

Current research trends of nanomedicines

“…Collectively, MOFs exhibit the huge potential to act as drug carriers and MOF–synergistic drug systems 118 . The porous structure makes MOFs candidates for drug loading and flexible modification due to the multi-selectivity of metal ions and ligands 119 . However, several challenges remain for their clinical translation.…”

Current status of controlled onco-therapies based on metal organic frameworks

“…Despite some already existing reviews on MOFs for cancer treatment that have classified MOFs in distinct ways such as by the delivery cargo, 23 structural components, 24 and synthetic approach, 25 we focused on controlled onco-therapeutics relying on MOFs, and classified MOFs into 6 categories, i.e. , pH-responsive, glutathione (GSH)-responsive, magnetism-responsive, light-responsive, temperature-responsive, and ultrasound-responsive, following their mechanisms of action.…”

“…Despite some already existing reviews on MOFs for cancer treatment that have classied MOFs in distinct ways such as by the delivery cargo, 23 structural components, 24 and synthetic approach, 25 we focused on controlled onco-therapeutics relying on MOFs, and classied MOFs into 6 categories, i.e., pHresponsive, glutathione (GSH)-responsive, magnetismresponsive, light-responsive, temperature-responsive, and ultrasound-responsive, following their mechanisms of action. Accordingly, we discussed the therapeutic potential of these MOFs in functioning as the drug nano-carrier targeting tumor cells and/or the tumor microenvironment (TME) taking advantages of the acidity and redox properties of the targets, as well as in acting as anti-cancer agents sensitive to external physical perturbations.…”

Evaluation of the Antibacterial, Anti-Inflammatory, And Bone-Promoting Capacity of UiO-66 Loaded with Thymol or Carvacrol

“…Metal-organic framework (MOF), also known as metal-organic coordination polymer or organic-inorganic hybrid material, has a natural advantage as a drug carrier due to its high porosity, good thermal stability, large internal surface area and other characteristics. − …”