A simple one step synthesis of magnetic-optical dual functional ZIF-8 in a sodalite phase for magnetically guided targeting bioimaging and drug delivery

Abstract

Functionalized metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) that integrate targeted tumor imaging and drug delivery are expected to significantly enhance the therapeutic efficacy of cancer. However, the complicated synthesis process has greatly limited their utilization in clinical application. Herein, a one-step simple method was used to construct novel multifunctional MOFs by co-loading doxorubicin (DOX) and Fe₃O₄ into the ZIF-8 with sodalite topology. DOX serves as a fluorescence imaging reagent and an anticancer drug and Fe₃O₄ is used as a magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic targeting anticancer reagent. The fabricated DOX/Fe₃O₄@ZIF-8 nanocomposite showed excellent fluorescence and magnetic resonance imaging performances in tumors. Moreover, DOX/Fe₃O₄@ZIF-8 can be accumulated in tumors via a magnetic targeting effect and tumor growth could be inhibited in vivo due to the release of DOX. Additionally, the apoptosis process of DOX/Fe₃O₄@ZIF-8 on HepG2 cells is well investigated. Overall, DOX/Fe₃O₄@ZIF-8 synthesized in simple one step can be used for simultaneous targeted bioimaging and cancer therapy.