Light responsive metal–organic frameworks as controllable CO-releasing cell culture substrates. Issue 3 (11th January 2017) - Diring, Stéphane
Abstract : Carbon monoxide-releasing metal–organic frameworks are developed for investigating gas biology at the single cell level. Abstract : A new carbon monoxide (CO)-releasing material has been developed by embedding a manganese carbonyl complex, MnBr(bpydc)(CO)3 (bpydc = 5, 5′-dicarboxylate-2, 2′-bipyridine) into a highly robust Zr(iv )-based metal–organic framework (MOF). Efficient and controllable CO-release was achieved under exposure to low intensity visible light. Size-controllable nanocrystals of the photoactive MOF were obtained and their CO-releasing properties were correlated with their crystal sizes. The photoactive crystals were processed into cellular substrates with a biocompatible polymer matrix, and the light-induced delivery of CO and its subsequent cellular uptake were monitored using a fluorescent CO-probe. The results discussed here demonstrate a new opportunity to use MOFs as macromolecular scaffolds towards CO-releasing materials and the advantage of MOFs for high CO payloads, which is essential in future therapeutic applications.