Current status of Fe-based MOFs in biomedical applications.

Recently nanoparticle-based platforms have gained interest as drug delivery systems and diagnostic agents, especially in cancer therapy. With their ability to provide preferential accumulation at target sites, nanocarrier-constructed antitumor drugs can improve therapeutic efficiency and bioavailability. In contrast, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have received increasing academic interest as an outstanding class of coordination polymers that combine porous structures with high drug loading via temperature modulation and ligand interactions, overcoming the drawbacks of conventional drug carriers. FeIII-based MOFs are one of many with high biocompatibility and good drug loading capacity, as well as unique Fenton reactivity and superparamagnetism, making them highly promising in chemodynamic and photothermal therapy, and magnetic resonance imaging. Given this, this article summarizes the applications of FeIII-based MOFs in three significant fields: chemodynamic therapy, photothermal therapy and MRI, suggesting a logical route to new strategies. This article concludes by summarising the primary challenges and development prospects in these promising research areas.

Recent advances and prospects of metal-organic frameworks in cancer therapies.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been broadly applied in biomedical and other fields. MOFs have high porosity, a large comparative area, and good biostability and have attracted significant attention, especially in cancer therapies. This paper presents the latest applications of MOFs in chemodynamic therapy (CDT), sonodynamic therapy (SDT), photodynamic therapy (PDT), photothermal therapy (PTT), immunotherapy (IT), and combination therapy for breast cancer. A combination therapy is the combination of two different treatment modalities, such as CDT and PDT combination therapy, and is considered more effective than separate therapies. Herein, we have also discussed the advantages and disadvantages of combination therapy in the treatment of breast cancer. This paper aims to illustrate the potential of MOFs in new cancer therapeutic approaches, discuss their potential advantages, and provide some reflections on the latest research results.

Current status and prospects of MIL-based MOF materials for biomedicine applications.

This article mainly reviews the biomedicine applications of two metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), MIL-100(Fe) and MIL-101(Fe). These MOFs have advantages such as high specific surface area, adjustable pore size, and chemical stability, which make them widely used in drug delivery systems. The article first introduces the properties of these two materials and then discusses their applications in drug transport, antibacterial therapy, and cancer treatment. In cancer treatment, drug delivery systems based on MIL-100(Fe) and MIL-101(Fe) have made significant progress in chemotherapy (CT), chemodynamic therapy (CDT), photothermal therapy (PTT), photodynamic therapy (PDT), immunotherapy (IT), nano-enzyme therapy, and related combined therapy. Overall, these MIL-100(Fe) and MIL-101(Fe) materials have tremendous potential and diverse applications in the field of biomedicine.

scAAV9-VEGF alleviates symptoms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) mice through regulating aromatase.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is an adult-onset, chronic, progressive, and fatal neurodegenerative disease that leads to progressive atrophy and weakness of the muscles throughout the body. Herein, we found that the intrathecal injection of adeno-associated virus (AAV)-delivered VEGF in SOD1-G93A transgenic mice, as well as ALS mice, could significantly delay disease onset and preserve motor functions and neurological functions, thus prolonging the survival of mice models. Moreover, we found that VEGF treatment could induce the elevated expression of aromatase, which is a key enzyme in estrogen synthesis, in neurons but not in astrocytes. On the other hand, the changes in the expression of oxidative stress-related factors HO-1 and GCLM and autophagy-related proteins p62 and LC3II upon the administration of VEGF revealed the involvement of oxidative stress and autophagy underlying the downstream of the VEGF-induced mitigation of ALS. In conclusion, this study proved the protective effects of VEGF in the onset and development of ALS and revealed the involvement of estrogen, oxidative stress and autophagy in the VEGF-induced alleviation of ALS. Our results highlighted the potential of VEGF as a promising therapeutic agent in the treatment of ALS.

Current status and prospect of ZIF-based materials for breast cancer treatment.

Breast cancer, one of the three most life-threatening cancers in modern times, must be explored for treatments with low side effects and practical efficacy. Metal organic framework materials (MOFs) is made by metal ions as the center for point and organic ligands as a bridge connecting a new type of porous nano-materials, among them, the zinc base zeolite imidazole skeleton material series (ZIFs) because of its excellent biocompatibility and pH slow controlled release ability, is widely used in the tumor microenvironment in basic research and achieved remarkable curative effect. Inspired by this, in this review, we focus on the recent research progress on the application of ZIFs in the treatment of breast cancer, mainly studying the structure of ZIFs such as ZIF-8, ZIF-90 and ZIF-67 and their application in novel therapies for breast cancer treatment, such as targeted drug delivery, photothermal therapy, immunotherapy and gene therapy.We will more fully demonstrate the potential of zif in breast cancer treatment, hoping to provide an avenue for exploring breast cancer treatment.

Current status of porous coordination networks (PCNs) derived porphyrin spacers for cancer therapy.

INTRODUCTION: Porous coordination networks (PCNs) have been widely used in large number of applications such as light harvesting, catalysis, and biomedical applications. Inserting porphyrins into PCNs scaffolds can alleviate the solubility and chemical stability problems associated with porphyrin ligands and add functionality to PCNs. The discovery that some PCNs materials have photosensitizer and acoustic sensitizer properties has attracted significant attention in the field of biomedicine, particularly in cancer therapy. This article describes the latest applications of the porphyrin ligand-based family of PCNs in cancer chemodynamic therapy (CDT), photodynamic therapy (PDT), sonodynamic therapy (SDT), photothermal therapy (PTT), and combination therapies and offers some observations and reflections on them. AREAS COVERED: This article discusses the use of the PCN family of MOFs in cancer treatment, specifically focusing on chemodynamic therapy, sonodynamic therapy, photodynamic therapy, photothermal therapy, and combination therapy. EXPERT OPINION: Although a large number of PCNs have been developed for use in novel cancer therapeutic approaches, further improvements are needed to advance the use of PCNs in the clinic. For example, the main mechanism of action of PCNs against cancer and the metabolic processes in organisms, and how to construct PCNs that maintain good stability in the complex environment of organisms.

A Novel Platform of MOF for Sonodynamic Therapy Advanced Therapies.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) combined with sonodynamic therapy (SDT) have been introduced as a new and efficient treatment method. The critical advantage of SDT is its ability to penetrate deep tissues and concentrate energy on the tumor site to achieve a non-invasive or minimally invasive effect. Using a sonosensitizer to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) under ultrasound is the primary SDT-related method of killing tumor cells. In the presence of a sonosensitizer, SDT exhibits a more lethal effect on tumors. The fast development of micro/nanotechnology has effectively improved the efficiency of SDT, and MOFs have been broadly evaluated in SDT due to their easy synthesis, easy surface functionalization, high porosity, and high biocompatibility. This article reviews the main mechanism of action of sonodynamic therapy in cancer treatment, and also reviews the applications of MOFs in recent years. The application of MOFs in sonodynamic therapy can effectively improve the targeting ability of SDT and the conversion ability of reactive oxygen species, thus improving their killing ability on cancer cells. This provides new ideas for the application of micro/nano particles in SDT and cancer therapy.

An H2 S-BMP6 Dual-Loading System with Regulating Yap/Taz and Jun Pathway for Synergistic Critical Limb Ischemia Salvaging Therapy.

Critical limb ischemia, the final course of peripheral artery disease, is characterized by an insufficient supply of blood flow and excessive oxidative stress. H2 S molecular therapy possesses huge potential for accelerating revascularization and scavenging intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). Moreover, it is found that BMP6 is the most significantly up-expressed secreted protein-related gene in HUVECs treated with GYY4137, a H2 S donor, based on the transcriptome analysis. Herein, a UIO-66-NH2 @GYY4137@BMP6 co-delivery nanoplatform to strengthen the therapeutic effects of limb ischemia is developed. The established UIO-66-NH2 @GYY4137@BMP6 nanoplatform exerts its proangiogenic and anti-oxidation functions by regulating key pathways. The underlying molecular mechanisms of UIO-66-NH2 @GYY4137@BMP6 dual-loading system lie in the upregulation of phosphorylated YAP/TAZ and Jun to promote HUVECs proliferation and downregulation of phosphorylated p53/p21 to scavenge excessive ROS. Meanwhile, laser-doppler perfusion imaging (LDPI), injury severity evaluation, and histological analysis confirm the excellent therapeutic effects of UIO-66-NH2 @GYY4137@BMP6 in vivo. This work may shed light on the treatment of critical limb ischemia by regulating YAP, Jun, and p53 signaling pathways based on gas-protein synergistic therapy.

Depicting the landscape of gut microbial-metabolic interaction and microbial-host immune heterogeneity in deficient and proficient DNA mismatch repair colorectal cancers.

BACKGROUND: Accumulating evidence has indicated the role of gut microbiota in remodeling host immune signatures, but various interplays underlying colorectal cancers (CRC) with deficient DNA mismatch repair (dMMR) and proficient DNA mismatch repair (pMMR) remain poorly understood. This study aims to decipher the gut microbiome-host immune interactions between dMMR and pMMR CRC. METHOD: We performed metagenomic sequencing and metabolomic analysis of fecal samples from a cohort encompassing 455 participants, including 21 dMMR CRC, 207 pMMR CRC, and 227 healthy controls. Among them, 50 tumor samples collected from 5 dMMR CRC and 45 pMMR CRC were conducted bulk RNA sequencing. RESULTS: Pronounced microbiota and metabolic heterogeneity were identified with 211 dMMR-enriched species, such as Fusobacterium nucleatum and Akkermansia muciniphila, 2 dMMR-depleted species, such as Flavonifractor plautii, 13 dMMR-enriched metabolites, such as retinoic acid, and 77 dMMR-depleted metabolites, such as lactic acid, succinic acid, and 2,3-dihydroxyvaleric acid. F. plautii was enriched in pMMR CRC and it was positively associated with fatty acid degradation, which might account for the accumulation of dMMR-depleted metabolites classified as short chain organic acid (lactic acid, succinic acid, and 2,3-dihydroxyvaleric acid) in pMMR CRC. The microbial-metabolic association analysis revealed the characterization of pMMR CRC as the accumulation of lactate induced by the depletion of specific gut microbiota which was negatively associated with antitumor immune, whereas the nucleotide metabolism and peptide degradation mediated by dMMR-enriched species characterized dMMR CRC. MMR-specific metabolic landscapes were related to distinctive immune features, such as CD8+ T cells, dendritic cells and M2-like macrophages. CONCLUSIONS: Our mutiomics results delineate a heterogeneous landscape of microbiome-host immune interactions within dMMR and pMMR CRC from aspects of bacterial communities, metabolic features, and correlation with immunocyte compartment, which infers the underlying mechanism of heterogeneous immune responses.

Asymmetric total synthesis and anti-hepatocellular carcinoma profile of enantiopure euphopilolide and jolkinolide E.

A flexible asymmetric synthesis of both enantiomers of euphopilolide (1) and jolkinolide E (2) [(+)-and (-)-1, (+)-and (-)-2] has been accomplished. This synthesis features an intramolecular oxa-Pauson-Khand reaction (o-PKR) to expeditiously construct the challenging tetracyclic [6.6.6.5] abietane-type diterpene framework, elegantly showcasing the complexity-generating features of o-PKR synthetic methodology leveraging on a judiciously chosen suitable chiral pool scaffold. Furthermore, the anti-hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) activity of synthetic (-)-euphopilolide (1), (-)-jolkinolide E (2) and their analogues was evaluated. We found that (-)-euphopilolide (1) and (-)-jolkinolide E (2) inhibited the proliferation and induced apoptosis in HCC cells. These findings lay a good foundation for further pharmacology studies of abietane lactone derivatives and provide valuable insight for the development of anti-HCC small molecule drug of natural product origin.

Correction: Current and promising applications of Hf(IV)-based MOFs in cancer therapy.

Correction for 'Current and promising applications of Hf(IV)-based MOFs in cancer therapy' by Xuelin Chen et al., J. Mater. Chem. B, 2023, 11, 5693-5714, https://doi.org/10.1039/D3TB00267E.

Construction of Fe-doped ZIF-8/DOX nanocomposites for ferroptosis strategy in the treatment of breast cancer.

Breast cancer has become one of the top five commonest causes of cancer death. The use of ferroptosis to induce the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cancer cells presents a promising and potential strategy for cancer treatment. Herein, a series of facile bimetallic nanoparticles (x% Fe-doped ZIF-8) were synthesized and tested, and doxorubicin (DOX), a classic drug for breast cancer therapy, was encapsulated. After comparing the ratios of Fe2+/(Fe2+ + Zn2+), 7% Fe-doped ZIF-8 (7FZ) was found to be the most suitable particle for medical application. The drug loading efficiency of DOX@7FZ was 58.01 ± 0.02%. The pH-sensitive DOX@7FZ was degraded and DOX was released in lysosomes once internalized. Both the intracellular content of iron and ROS increased significantly. Meanwhile, the cell viability declined to 13.98% in 24 h at a concentration of 60 µg mL-1 and the IC50 was 42.68 µg mL-1. Moreover, the expression of Bcl-2 and GPX-4 proteins decreased in a time-dependent manner, indicating that DOX@7FZ was able to enhance the ROS level in cancer cells via a synergistic effect between apoptosis and ferroptosis. The mechanism of action of DOX@7FZ was further verified using hematoxylin and eosin staining and immunohistochemical staining of Bcl-2 and GPX-4. These remarkable characteristics of DOX@7FZ may inspire further advancements in the treatment of breast cancer.

Sunglint reflection facilitates performance of spaceborne UV sensor in oil spill detection.

Ultraviolet Imager (UVI) onboard Haiyang-1C/D (HY-1C/D) satellites has been providing ultraviolet (UV) data to detect marine oil spills since 2018. Although the scale effect of UV remote sensing has been preliminarily interpreted, the application characteristics of spaceborne UV sensors with medium spatial resolution in oil spill detection deserve further investigation, especially the role of sunglint in the process of detection. In this study, the performance of the UVI is thoroughly assessed by the following aspects: image features of oils under sunglint, sunglint requirement for spaceborne UV detection of oils, and the stability of the UVI signal. The results indicate that in UVI images, it is sunglint reflection that determines the image features of spilled oils, and the appearance of sunglint can strengthen the contrast between oils and seawater. Besides, the required sunglint strength in spaceborne UV detection has been deduced to be 10-3 - 10-4 sr-1, which is higher than that in the VNIR wavelengths. Moreover, uncertainties in the UVI signal can meet the demand to discriminate between oils and seawater. The above results can confirm the capability of the UVI and the critical role of sunglint in spaceborne UV detection of marine oil spills, and provide new reference for spaceborne UV remote sensing.

Current and promising applications of Hf(IV)-based MOFs in clinical cancer therapy.

Cancer is one of the greatest challenges in medical science today as it poses a serious threat to human life. In view of this, myriad of therapeutic strategies are being developed for the treatment of cancer. Despite the use of various therapeutic approaches, they are still insufficient for the treatment of cancer. The rapid advancement of nanotechnology currently offers exciting possibilities for the creation of novel cancer therapy approaches. Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) are emerging multifunctional nanomaterials that find prospective applications in the biomedical field owing to their porosity, large specific surface area, and diversified structures. Amongst varied categories of MOFs, Hf(IV)-based MOFs that have been developed since 2012 and currently have been finding new applications and hence this class of MOFs are gaining immense attention amongst the material and biomaterial chemists. Most importantly, Hf(IV)-MOFs comprising high Z-Hf metal content may be capable of offering new therapeutic options for cancer therapy, nonlinear optics, as fluorescent sensors, and photoresponsive devices. In this review, the progress in Hf(IV)-based MOFs for the treatment of cancer using radiotherapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, phototherapeutic techniques, or a combination of two or more of these techniques have been explored. This review also provides insight regarding the current limitations and future prospects of Hf(IV)-MOFs for cancer therapy.

Recent Advances of Fe(III)/Fe(II)-MPNs in Biomedical Applications.

Metal-phenolic networks (MPNs) are a new type of nanomaterial self-assembled by metal ions and polyphenols that have been developed rapidly in recent decades. They have been widely investigated, in the biomedical field, for their environmental friendliness, high quality, good bio-adhesiveness, and bio-compatibility, playing a crucial role in tumor treatment. As the most common subclass of the MPNs family, Fe-based MPNs are most frequently used in chemodynamic therapy (CDT) and phototherapy (PTT), where they are often used as nanocoatings to encapsulate drugs, as well as good Fenton reagents and photosensitizers to improve tumor therapeutic efficiency substantially. In this review, strategies for preparing various types of Fe-based MPNs are first summarized. We highlight the advantages of Fe-based MPNs under the different species of polyphenol ligands for their application in tumor treatments. Finally, some current problems and challenges of Fe-based MPNs, along with a future perspective on biomedical applications, are discussed.

Current status and prospects of MOFs in controlled delivery of Pt anticancer drugs.

Cancer has become the second leading reason for death in the world. Still, cancer therapy development is exceptionally challenging because the tumor microenvironment is very complex, and individual tumors are very different. In recent years, researchers have found that platinum-based drugs in the form of metal complexes can effectively solve tumor resistance. In this regard, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as suitable carriers with high porosity are also exceptional in the biomedical field. Therefore, this article reviews the application of platinum as an anticancer drug and the composite anticancer properties of platinum and MOF materials and prospects for its future development, which provides a new direction for further research in the biomedical field.

Integrated metagenomic and metabolomic analysis reveals distinct gut-microbiome-derived phenotypes in early-onset colorectal cancer.

OBJECTIVE: The incidence of early-onset colorectal cancer (EO-CRC) is steadily increasing. Here, we aimed to characterise the interactions between gut microbiome, metabolites and microbial enzymes in EO-CRC patients and evaluate their potential as non-invasive biomarkers for EO-CRC. DESIGN: We performed metagenomic and metabolomic analyses, identified multiomics markers and constructed CRC classifiers for the discovery cohort with 130 late-onset CRC (LO-CRC), 114 EO-CRC subjects and age-matched healthy controls (97 LO-Control and 100 EO-Control). An independent cohort of 38 LO-CRC, 24 EO-CRC, 22 LO-Controls and 24 EO-Controls was analysed to validate the results. RESULTS: Compared with controls, reduced alpha-diversity was apparent in both, LO-CRC and EO-CRC subjects. Although common variations existed, integrative analyses identified distinct microbiome-metabolome associations in LO-CRC and EO-CRC. Fusobacterium nucleatum enrichment and short-chain fatty acid depletion, including reduced microbial GABA biosynthesis and a shift in acetate/acetaldehyde metabolism towards acetyl-CoA production characterises LO-CRC. In comparison, multiomics signatures of EO-CRC tended to be associated with enriched Flavonifractor plauti and increased tryptophan, bile acid and choline metabolism. Notably, elevated red meat intake-related species, choline metabolites and KEGG orthology (KO) pldB and cbh gene axis may be potential tumour stimulators in EO-CRC. The predictive model based on metagenomic, metabolomic and KO gene markers achieved a powerful classification performance for distinguishing EO-CRC from controls. CONCLUSION: Our large-sample multiomics data suggest that altered microbiome-metabolome interplay helps explain the pathogenesis of EO-CRC and LO-CRC. The potential of microbiome-derived biomarkers as promising non-invasive tools could be used for the accurate detection and distinction of individuals with EO-CRC.

Fluorination of Terminal Groups Promoting Electron Transfer in Small Molecular Acceptors of Bulk Heterojunction Films.

The fluorination strategy is one of the most efficient and popular molecular modification methods to develop new materials for organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells. For OPV materials, it is a broad agreement that fluorination can reduce the energy level and change the morphology of active layers. To explore the effect of fluorination on small molecule acceptors, we selected two non-fullerene acceptors (NFA) based bulk heterojunction (BHJ) films, involving PM6:Y6 and PM6:Y5 as model systems. The electron mobilities of the PM6:Y5 and PM6:Y6 BHJ films are 5.76 × 10-7 cm2V-1s-1 and 5.02 × 10-5 cm2V-1s-1 from the space-charge-limited current (SCLC) measurements. Through molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, it is observed that halogen bonds can be formed between Y6 dimers, which can provide external channels for electron carrier transfer. Meanwhile, the "A-to-A" type J-aggregates are more likely to be generated between Y6 molecules, and the π-π stacking can be also enhanced, thus increasing the charge transfer rate and electron mobility between Y6 molecules.

Recent advances in Ti-based MOFs in biomedical applications.

Currently, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), basically inorganic-organic hybrid materials, have gained tremendous attention due to their vast applications. MOFs have shown enormous applications in almost every research field. However, the area of designing MOF materials for their biological applications is still an emerging field that needs attention. Titanium-based metal-organic framework (Ti-MOF) materials are used in many research areas due to their structural advantages, such as small particle size and large effective surface area. On the other hand, they have also shown unique advantages such as good biocompatibility, excellent catalytic oxidation and photocatalytic properties and ease of functionalization. This study reviews the recent research progress on Ti-MOFs in therapeutic areas such as antibacterial, oncology, anti-inflammation, and bone injury, which will provide new directions for further research in this biomedical field. Therefore, this article will help scientists working in the particular field to enhance their understanding of Ti-based MOFs for functional biomedical applications.