Evaluate the effect of pore size and functional group of the MOF on the amount of the drug loading

We have witnessed a rapid growth in the field of a new nanoporous material group, metal organic frameworks (MOFs), over the past decade. MOFs possess a wide array of potential applications in chemical engineering, chemistry, and materials science, including gas storage, gas separation, and catalysis[1]. One of the areas MOFs started to appear recently is biomedical applications. The unique physical and chemical characteristics of MOFs make them promising candidates for drug storage and drug delivery, nitric oxide storage and delivery, imaging, and sensing[2]. In this paper, Two 3D, porous Zn(II)-based metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), TMU-5 and TMU-6, containing azine-functionalized pores, were synthesized as potential drug carriers to evaluate the effect of pore size and functional group on the amount of drug loading in a MOF. 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) is specifically chosen in the study for its small size, which is widely used as an anti-cancer chemotherapy drug for the treatment of colorectal, breast and head and neck cancers was laden into pores of the two structures. These MOFs respectively could adsorb up to 2.1 g and 7.5 g of 5-FU per gram of composites. The drug release for TMU-6 was also monitored and 80% of the loaded drug was released over 12 days.The results showed that pore size has a special effect on the amount of drug loading.