Abstract

Metal-organic frameworks are highly porous crystalline materials that enable molecular structural control. They were first described by Hoskins and Robson in 1989. In order to create metal-organic frameworks, coordinate bonds are used to link organic ligands with metal ions or clusters into two- or three dimensional networks. Traditional synthesis, non-solvothermal, solvothermal, microwave synthesis, and sonochemical synthesis are the most commonly used techniques for the preparation of metal-organic frameworks. Nano-metal-organic frameworks, or nanoscale metal-organic frameworks, can be fabricated by carriers for biotherapeutics owing to their capability of undergoing size customisation. The metal ion catalytic activity and organic functional group properties of nano- metal-organic frameworks provide an excellent therapeutic technique. Nano-metal-organic frameworks have been studied a lot as drug delivery vehicles because they have a very large surface area, are very porous, and are easy to change chemically. They have been used to deliver a variety of therapeutic agents including anticancer drugs, antimicrobial agents, metabolic labelling molecules, anti-glaucoma drugs and hormones. Recent research has demonstrated the use of metal-organic frameworks for better cellular intake, controlled drug release, and drug targeting. Drugs are frequently incorporated within metal-organic frameworks either through in situ encapsulation or post-synthetic adjustment. New opportunities for multifunctional drug delivery systems may be made possible by such a multimodal treatment system. However, there is a need to address a major challenge of toxicity linked with the biomedical use of metal-organic frameworks which can be attributed to the metal ion leaching. Considering that, the development of metal-organic frameworks-based safe, versatile and efficient drug delivery system is a promising research area which is yet to be explored fully.