Fabrication of pH-sensitive magnetic metal-organic framework for controlled-release of heparin

Bioactive Metal-Organic Frameworks as a Distinctive Platform to Diagnosis and Treat Vascular Diseases

Vascular diseases (VDs) pose the leading threat worldwide due to high morbidity and mortality. The detection of VDs is commonly dependent on individual signs, which limits the accuracy and timeliness of therapies, especially for asymptomatic patients in clinical management. Therefore, more effective early diagnosis and lesion-targeted treatments remain a pressing clinical need. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are porous crystalline materials formed by the coordination of inorganic metal ions and organic ligands. Due to their unique high specific surface area, structural flexibility, and functional versatility, MOFs are recognized as highly promising candidates for diagnostic and therapeutic applications in the field of VDs. In this review, the potential of MOFs to act as biosensors, contrast agents, artificial nanozymes, and multifunctional therapeutic agents in the diagnosis and treatment of VDs from the clinical perspective, highlighting the integration between clinical methods with MOFs is generalized. At the same time, multidisciplinary cooperation from chemistry, physics, biology, and medicine to promote the substantial commercial transformation of MOFs in tackling VDs is called for.

Natural and polyanionic heparin polysaccharide functionalized upconversion nanoparticles for highly sensitive and selective ratiometric detection of pesticide

Pesticide contamination is a global concern, threatening human health and food safety. Herein, we developed heparin (HEP) functionalized upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs)-based ratiometric nanosensor for the sensitive detection of 2,6-dichloro-4-nitroaniline (DCN) pesticide via inner filter effect. The strategy for HEP functionalization of UCNPs is based on adjusting the surface potentials of UCNPs with polyanionic HEP through the electrostatic interaction. UCNPs (NaYbF4:Gd/Y/Tm@NaYbF4@NaYF4) was designed with core-shell-shell structure and extra sensitizer layer for efficient and strong upconversion luminescence (UCL) in the range of UV to NIR. After incorporation of DCN, the upconverted UV emission of UCNPs-HEP ratiometric nanosensor was considerably quenched with the NIR UCL at 800 nm remaining unchanged as internal standard. The UCNPs-HEP ratiometric nanosensor can achieve outstandingly selective and sensitive detection of DCN at the wide linear range of 5-300 μM with a detection limit of 0.41 μM. The remarkable applicability of the UCNPs-HEP ratiometric nanosensor was verified in apple, cucumber and grapes samples. The developed UCNPs-HEP ratiometric nanosensor with excellent biocompatibility and water dispersion capability, is promising for convenient, selective and sensitive sensing of DCN towards food and aqueous samples.

Magnetic UiO-66-NH2 Core-Shell Nanohybrid as a Promising Carrier for Quercetin Targeted Delivery toward Human Breast Cancer Cells

In this study, a magnetic core-shell metal-organic framework (MOF) nanocomposite, Fe3O4-COOH@UiO-66-NH2, was synthesized for tumor-targeting drug delivery by incorporating carboxylate groups as functional groups onto ferrite nanoparticle surfaces, followed by fabrication of the UiO-66-NH2 shell using a facile self-assembly approach. The anticancer drug quercetin (QU) was loaded into the magnetic core-shell nanoparticles. The synthesized magnetic nanoparticles were comprehensively evaluated through multiple techniques, including FT-IR, PXRD, FE-SEM, TEM, EDX, BET, UV-vis, ZP, and VSM. Drug release investigations were conducted to investigate the release behavior of QU from the nanocomposite at two different pH values (7.4 and 5.4). The results revealed that QU@Fe3O4-COOH@UiO-66-NH2 exhibited a high loading capacity of 43.1% and pH-dependent release behavior, maintaining sustained release characteristics over a prolonged duration of 11 days. Furthermore, cytotoxicity assays using the human breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 and the normal cell line HEK-293 were performed to evaluate the cytotoxic effects of QU, UiO-66-NH2, Fe3O4-COOH, Fe3O4-COOH@UiO-66-NH2, and QU@Fe3O4-COOH@UiO-66-NH2. Treatment with QU@Fe3O4-COOH@UiO-66-NH2 substantially reduced the cell viability in cancerous MDA-MB-231 cells. Cellular uptake and cell death mechanisms were further investigated, demonstrating the internalization of QU@Fe3O4-COOH@UiO-66-NH2 by cancer cells and the induction of cancer cell death through the apoptosis pathway. These findings highlight the considerable potential of Fe3O4-COOH@UiO-66-NH2 as a targeted nanocarrier for the delivery of anticancer drugs.

Fabrication of biocompatible magnetic maltose/MIL-88 metal-organic frameworks decorated with folic acid-chitosan for targeted and pH-responsive controlled release of doxorubicin

Recently, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have attracted tremendous attention as promising porous drug delivery systems for cancer treatment. In this work, for the first time, a novel magnetic maltose disaccharide molecule modified with MIL-88 metal-organic framework (Fe₃O₄@C@MIL-88) was prepared, and then this targeted system was used for the delivery of the doxorubicin (DOX) drug. Eventually, Fe₃O₄@C@MIL-88-DOX were successfully decorated with folic acid conjugated chitosan (Fe₃O₄@C@MIL-88-DOX-FC) as a new targeted and controlled release drug system for treatment of MCF-7 breast cancer. The encapsulation efficiency of the DOX in the Fe₃O₄@C@MIL-88 was obtained at ∼83.6%. The in vitro drug release profiles showed a pH-responsive controlled release of DOX in acidic pH confirming the performance of the systems in the cancerous environment. The DOX release mechanism from systems at pH 5 also showed that the kinetic data well fitted to the Korsmeyer-Peppas and Fickian diffusion. Furthermore, in vitro cytotoxicity and DAPI staining study clearly illustrated that the synthesized Fe₃O₄@C@MIL-88 system had low cytotoxicity and good biocompatibility against MCF-7 cancer cells and MCF-10A normal cells. Whereas, Fe₃O₄@C@MIL-88-DOX and Fe₃O₄@C@MIL-88-DOX-FC exhibited good antitumor activity as a result of targeted delivery of DOX, which indicated the MCF-7 cell death with apoptotic effects. Based on these findings, the resulting carriers could be used as promising targeted drug delivery systems for cancer therapy.

Magnetic Fe3O4@ZIF-8 nanoparticles as a drug release vehicle: pH-sensitive release of norfloxacin and its antibacterial activity

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have a high specific surface area and inherent biodegradability due to their unique structure and composition. As well, owing to the properties of nanomaterials and especially their magnetic features, Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles and MOFs composite materials have great potential in the design and application of drug release. The present work: firstly, investigated norfloxacin loading in magnetic metal organic framework (Fe₃O₄@ZIF-8); and secondly, studied the release of norfloxacin and its antibacterial activity. Results showed the release efficiencies reached 97 % at 310 K after 84 h (pH 7.4). Drug release behavior was tested at various pH levels and it was found that Fe₃O₄@ZIF-8 has pH-sensitive properties. Furthermore, the release model calculation illustrated that the release process fitted well to the Bhaskar model. The magnetic properties of Fe₃O₄@ZIF-8 confirmed that the composite has potential application for a targeted drug delivery system. The mechanism of pH-responsive norfloxacin release was combined with diffusion, ion exchange and electrostatic repulsion. Furthermore, the antibacterial activities of Fe₃O₄@ZIF-8 and NOR-Fe₃O₄@ZIF-8 were tested against Escherichia coli. Results showed that Fe₃O₄@ZIF-8 had good biocompatibility while NOR-Fe₃O₄@ZIF-8 can deter or inhibit the actions of microorganisms.

The development of novel multifunctional drug system 7,8-DHF@ZIF-8 and its potential application in bone defect healing

Physical exercise has long been considered an essential regulator of bone formation. Recent studies have shown that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is an important cytokine released during physical exercise to promote osteogenic differentiation and facilitate the bone defect healing process. In this study, we developed a multifunctional system 7,8-DHF@ZIF-8, which combines the superior osteogenesis and angiogenesis properties of ZIF-8 and the unique capability of 7,8-DHF to mimic the function of BDNF to compensate for the routine physical exercise missed during the bone defect period. Various material characterizations were performed to confirm the successful synthesis of 7,8-DHF@ZIF-8. Drug release experiments suggested that 7,8-DHF@ZIF-8 could achieve slow diffusive release under physiological conditions within seven days. In vitro cell experiments indicated that low concentrations of ZIF-8 and 7,8-DHF@ZIF-8 could significantly promote the proliferation of MC3T3-E1 cells. Moreover, as proved by RT-QPCR analysis, incorporating 7,8-DHF into ZIF-8 could further enhance osteogenesis and angiogenesis-related gene expression. Therefore, we believe that the multifunctional drug system 7,8-DHF@ZIF-8 should have promising applications to facilitate bone defect healing.