Issue 31, 2021

Tuning the physicochemical properties of reticular covalent organic frameworks (COFs) for biomedical applications

Abstract

Since the first report by Yaghi's group in 2005, research enthusiasm has been increasingly raised to synthesize diverse crystalline porous materials as –B–O–, –C–N–, –C–C–, and –C–O– linkage-based COFs. Recently, the biomedical applications of COFs have become more and more attractive in biomedical applications, including drug delivery, bioimaging, biosensing, antimicrobial, and therapeutic applications, as these materials bear well-defined crystalline porous structures and well-customized functionalities. However, the clinical translation of these research findings is challenging due to the formidable hindrances for in vivo use, such as low biocompatibility, poor selectivity, and long bio-persistence. Some attempts have raised a promising solution towards these obstacles by tailored engineering the functionalities of COFs. To speed up the clinical translations of COFs, a short review of principles and strategies to tune the physicochemical properties of COFs is timely and necessary. In this review, we summarized the biomedical utilities of COFs and discussed the related key physicochemical properties. To improve the performances of COFs in biomedical uses, we propose approaches for the tailored functionalization of COFs, including large-scale manufacture, standardization in nanomedicines, enhancing targeting efficacy, maintaining predesigned functions upon transformations, and manipulation of multifunctional COFs. We expect that this minireview strengthens the fundamental understandings of property–bioactivity relationships of COFs and provides insights for the rational design of their high-order reticular structures.

Graphical abstract: Tuning the physicochemical properties of reticular covalent organic frameworks (COFs) for biomedical applications

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
19 mai 2021
Accepted
05 jul 2021
First published
05 jul 2021

J. Mater. Chem. B, 2021,9, 6116-6128

Tuning the physicochemical properties of reticular covalent organic frameworks (COFs) for biomedical applications

C. Liao and S. Liu, J. Mater. Chem. B, 2021, 9, 6116 DOI: 10.1039/D1TB01124C

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements