In situ polymerization on nanoscale metal-organic frameworks for enhanced physiological stability and stimulus-responsive intracellular drug delivery.

Metal-organic framework (MOF) nanoparticles have shown great potential as carrier platforms in theranostic applications. However, their poor physiological stability in phosphate-based media has limited their biological applications. Here, we studied the dissociation of MOF nanoparticles under physiological conditions, both in vitro and in vivo, and developed an in situ polymerization strategy on MOF nanoparticles for enhanced stability under physiological conditions and stimulus-responsive intracellular drug release. With polymer wrapped on the surface serving as a shield, the nanoscale MOFs were protected from decomposition by phosphate ions or acid and prevented the loaded cargos from leaking. An in vivo positron emission tomography (PET) study of 64Cu-labelled porphyrinic MOF indicated prolonged circulation time of the in situ polymerized MOF nanoparticles and greater tumor accumulation than unmodified MOF nanoparticles. With enhanced stability, cargos loaded into MOF nanoparticles or prodrugs conjugated on the surface can be efficiently delivered and released upon stimulus-responsive cleavage.

Core-shell metal-organic frameworks with fluorescence switch to trigger an enhanced photodynamic therapy.

The design of hybrid metal-organic framework (MOF) nanomaterials by integrating inorganic nanoparticle into MOF (NP@MOF) has demonstrated outstanding potential for obtaining enhanced, collective, and extended novel physiochemical properties. However, the reverse structure of MOF-integrated inorganic nanoparticle (MOF@NP) with multifunction has rarely been reported. Methods: We developed a facile in-situ growth method to integrate MOF nanoparticle into inorganic nanomaterial and designed a fluorescence switch to trigger enhanced photodynamic therapy. The influence of "switch" on the photodynamic activity was studied in vitro. The in vivo mice with tumor model was applied to evaluate the "switch"-triggered enhanced photodynamic therapy efficacy. Results: A core-satellites structure with fluorescence off and on function was obtained when growing MnO2 on the surface of fluorescent zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-8) nanoparticles. Furthermore, A core-shell structure with photodynamic activity off and on function was achieved by growing MnO2 on the surface of porphyrinic ZrMOF nanoparticles (ZrMOF@MnO2). Both the fluorescence and photodynamic activities can be turned off by MnO2 and turned on by GSH. The GSH-responsive activation of photodynamic activity of ZrMOF@MnO2 significantly depleted the intracellular GSH via a MnO2 reduction reaction, thus triggering an enhanced photodynamic therapy efficacy. Finally, the GSH-reduced Mn2+ provided a platform for magnetic resonance imaging-guided tumor therapy. Conclusion: This work highlights the impact of inorganic nanomaterial on the MOF properties and provides insight to the rational design of multifunctional MOF-inorganic nanomaterial complexes.