Smart nano-hybrid metal-organic frameworks: Revolutionizing advancements, applications, and challenges in biomedical therapeutics and diagnostics

Abstract

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are promising materials with high surface areas, tuneable pore sizes, and unique porous structures, which make them ideal candidates for a wide range of biomedical applications, including catalysis, bioimaging, and drug delivery. Recent advancements in the functionalization of MOFs, achieved through pre- and post-synthetic modifications, have expanded their applicability, particularly through the integration of nanoparticles (NPs). These nano-hybrid MOFs, incorporating nanoparticles such as gold, silver, platinum, copper, and iron, exhibit enhanced properties that boost their effectiveness in therapeutic, diagnostic, and environmental applications. Various synthesis techniques, including “ship-in-bottle” and “one-pot” methods, enable the creation of nano-hybrid composites with optimized catalytic performance, biosensing abilities, and drug delivery capabilities. This review uniquely focuses on the underexplored interplay between NP-MOF hybridization strategies and their direct influence on catalytic mechanisms in biomedical and environmental contexts. The integration of metal and carbon-based nanomaterials, including gold, silver, graphene oxide, and carbon nanotubes, into MOFs, emphasizing their impact on structural integrity, stability, and functional enhancements. Notably, these nano-hybrid MOFs demonstrate significant potential in drug delivery systems, offering controlled release mechanisms responsive to pH, redox, and temperature stimuli. The review also highlights the use of nano-hybrid MOFs in advanced cancer therapies, antimicrobial treatments, wound healing, and neurodegenerative disease research. Despite these innovations, challenges such as scalability, toxicity, and precise control over nanoparticle behaviour remain critical barriers. We critically assess recent advancements in MOF-based catalysis for biomedical applications, identifying key knowledge gaps and proposing future directions for overcoming synthetic limitations and biocompatibility concerns. Future developments in nano-hybrid MOF-based systems are crucial to optimizing their clinical applications and overcoming existing limitations in biocompatibility, biodegradability, and long-term stability.