Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) have gained increased attention due to their chemical versatility and tunable porosity. Cyclodextrin-based MOFs (CD-MOFs) are a new class of biofriendly, crystalline and highly porous materials formed by coordination of CDs and potassium ions. The researches of CD-MOFs are of interest due to the biocompatibility and prospective applications in drug delivery, but hampered in many cases by their moisture sensitive nature. So far, the reported strategies to improve the stability of CD-MOFs in water are time-consuming and reduce the loading capacity of CD-MOFs.

A Chinese-French scientist team led by Prof. Jiwen ZHANG from Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica (SIMM), Chinese Academy of Sciences focus on the synthesis and applications of CD-MOF materials. Scientists from SIMM, Université Paris-Sud, Jilin University, Sun Yat-Sen University have reported an effective one-step strategy to graft cholesterol (CHS) to form a protective hydrophobic layer over the surface of CD-MOFs in order to enhance their aqueous stability. The report has been published in the journal of Chem. Commun. recently.

The finding showed that the CHS shielded CD-MOFs (CD-MOF-CHS) can significantly enhance the stability and maintain an intact outer and inner crystalline structure even after 24 hours of incubation in water. The CD-MOF-CHS nanoparticles were nontoxic in vitro and can significantly increase the cellular penetration of doxorubicin (DOX) in HeLa cells. Pharmacokinetic studies in rats showed elongated blood circulation half-lives and high level of DOX in CD-MOF-CHS compared to the injection of free DOX.

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.

Original article link: http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2017/CC/C7CC03471G#!divAbstract

Figure: Cholesterol surface modification of CD-MOFs can significantly improve its stability in water (Image courtesy of the authors Ruxandra Gref and ZHANG Jiwen)

Contact:
Prof. ZHANG Jiwen
Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica,
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Email: jwzhang@simm.ac.cn

(Credit: ZHANG Jiwen)