Facile fabrication of magnetic metal–organic framework nanocomposites for potential targeted drug delivery

New materials are prerequisite for major breakthrough applications influencing our daily life, and therefore are pivotal for the chemical industry. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) constitute an emerging class of materials useful in gas storage, gas purification and separation applications as well as heterogeneous catalysis. They not only offer higher surface areas and the potential for enhanced activity than currently used materials like base metal oxides, but also provide shape/size selectivity which is important both for separations and catalysis. In this critical review an overview of the potential applications of MOFs in the chemical industry is presented. Furthermore, the synthesis and characterization of the materials are briefly discussed from the industrial perspective (88 references).

The role of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) in the field of catalysis is discussed, and special focus is placed on their assets and limits in light of current challenges in catalysis and green chemistry. Their structural and dynamic features are presented in terms of catalytic functions along with how MOFs can be designed to bridge the gap between zeolites and enzymes. The contributions of MOFs to the field of catalysis are comprehensively reviewed and a list of catalytic candidates is given. The subject is presented from a multidisciplinary point of view covering solid-state chemistry, materials science, and catalysis.

Research on mesoporous materials for biomedical purposes has experienced an outstanding increase during recent years. Since 2001, when MCM-41 was first proposed as drug-delivery system, silica-based materials, such as SBA-15 or MCM-48, and some metal-organic frameworks have been discussed as drug carriers and controlled-release systems. Mesoporous materials are intended for both systemic-delivery systems and implantable local-delivery devices. The latter application provides very promising possibilities in the field of bone-tissue repair because of the excellent behavior of these materials as bioceramics. This Minireview deals with the advances in this field by the control of the textural parameters, surface functionalization, and the synthesis of sophisticated stimuli-response systems.