Continuous and scalable fabrication of stable and biocompatible MOF@SiO2 nanoparticles for drug loading

Abstract

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have been widely used for drug/dye loading, but the large scale continuous production of these nanoparticles with good stability and biocompatibility still faces great challenges. Herein, a thermal-assisted microfluidic system was developed for the continuous and scalable fabrication of drug loaded MOFs@SiO₂ nanoparticles with uniform shape, narrow size distribution, good stability and excellent biocompatibility. This facile and general strategy is readily employed in the encapsulation of many dyes and drugs. In vivo photodynamic therapy for cancers, based on rose bengal-loaded nanoparticles, demonstrates the great potential of this novel fabrication strategy in biomedical fields.