Photodynamic Therapy Based on Nanoscale Metal–Organic Frameworks: From Material Design to Cancer Nanotherapeutics

Abstract

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a highly effective, noninvasive, highly selective method for cancer treatment. Nanoscale metal-organic frameworks (NMOFs) are a type of crystalline hybrid material composed of metal centers and organic linkers. Owing to their adjustable structure, easy modification, permanent pores, and good biocompatibility, NMOFs, as either nanophotosensitizers or photosensitizer nanocarriers, have been used in PDT. In this article, we summarize the recent progress in MOF-based nanomaterials for tumor PDT. The MOF-based nanomaterials might open up new avenues for the fabrication of new types of photosensitizers for PDT.

BODIPY-Decorated Nanoscale Covalent Organic Frameworks for Photodynamic Therapy

“…As is known, cancer is one of the greatest threats to human health (Fitzmaurice et al., 2018, Siegel et al., 2019). Photodynamic therapy (PDT) (Bolze et al., 2017, Guan et al., 2018a, Mallidi et al., 2016) is a promising clinical cancer treatment method in which a light-absorbing agent, referred to as a photosensitizer (PS), is interacted with light and oxygen to produce cytotoxic singlet oxygen ( 1 O 2 ). Compared with chemotherapy and radiotherapy, PDT generates less collateral damage to normal tissues, because 1 O 2 is produced only in the illuminated area where the PS accumulates.…”

Identifying Differing Intracellular Cargo Release Mechanisms by Monitoring In Vitro Drug Delivery from MOFs in Real Time

“…These have been designed to target specific cells 13 and organelles, 14 transport large specialized cargo such as oligonucleotides and proteins, 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 release these in response to specific stimuli, 20 , 21 and combine drug delivery with other techniques such as imaging 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 or photodynamic therapy. 27 , 28 Despite this diversification of material, the process of postsynthetic drug loading itself is often undercharacterized; cargo is often simply assumed to penetrate the porosity of the MOF despite potential competition from loading solvents. Additionally, binding cargo to the external surface of particles is already an established strategy for the delivery of larger molecules.…”

Design of Targeted Nanostructured Coordination Polymers (NCPs) for Cancer Therapy

“…However, only a few of them achieved a clinically relevant anticancer efficacy. Apart from the photosensitizer-containing porous metal-organic framework (MOF) nano-systems [84,85], some unique examples of NCPs have also been found in recent publications.…”

“…Some of the recent publications have shown interesting multifunctional nanoplatforms, such as that reported by Liu and coworkers, which detailed a biomimetic nanoprobe based on a pH-responsive porous NCPs for activated fluorescence imaging and targeted drug delivery [85]. The reported NCPs were synthesized by the coordination of polyphenol ligands and dopamine with Fe(III) ions.…”