It
is important to achieve a moderate sustained release rate for drug
delivery, so it is critical to regulate the host–guest interactions
for the rational design of a carrier. In this work, a nano-sized biocompatible
metal–organic framework (MOF), Mg(H2TBAPy)(H2O)3·C4H8O2 (TDL-Mg), was constructed by employing π-conjugated
1,3,6,8-tetrakis(p-benzoic acid)pyrene (H
4
TBAPy) as a ligand and used
for 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) loading (28.2 wt %) and sustained slow release. TDL-Mg exhibits a 3D supramolecular architecture featuring
a 1D rectangle channel with a size of 6.2 × 8.1 Å2 and a Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area of 627 m2·g–1. Channel microenvironment analysis
shows that the rigid H
2
TBAPy
2–
ligand adopts special
torsion to stabilize the channels and offer rich π-binding sites;
the partially deprotonated carboxyls not only participate in the formation
of strong hydrogen bonds but also create a mild pH buffer environment
for biological applications. Suitable host–guest interactions
are generated by the synergistic effect of polydirectional hydrogen
bonds, multiple π-interactions, and confined channels, which
allow 5-FU@TDL-Mg to release 76% of load in 72 h, a medically
reasonable rate. Microcalorimetry was used to directly quantify these
host–guest interactions with a moderate enthalpy of 22.3 kJ·mol–1, which provides a distinctive thermodynamic interpretation
for understanding the relationship between the MOF design and the
drug release rate. Additionally, the nano-sized 5-FU@TDL-Mg can be taken up by mouse breast cancer cells (4T1 cells) for imaging
based on the dramatic fluorescence change during the release of 5-FU,
exhibiting potential applications in biological systems.