Metal-Organic Framework Nanoparticles with Near-Infrared Dye for Multimodal Imaging and Guided Phototherapy

From the conception of atom economy to develop multifunctional nanomaterials, it is important to construct nanomaterials by maximizing functional units while minimizing unnecessary components. Noteworthy, metal-organic framework (MOF) nanoparticles are excellent examples to meet this idea. Current approaches for multifunctional MOFs are mainly based on encapsulation of functional molecules or multistep modification; however, high risk for leakage and burst release and time-consuming and complicated organic synthesis limit their applications. Here, we report a one-pot approach to build the defect structure of a metal organic framework with near-infrared dye (cypate), which is based on the interaction between Fe³⁺ and carboxyl group of cypate molecules, to construct a multifunctional MOF. Moreover, this system can achieve multimodal imaging guided phototherapy. Subsequently, the precise cancer phototherapy is investigated in vivo, and the tumors are entirely eliminated without obvious side effects, demonstrating the high efficacy and safety of this multifunctional platform. Hence, it is expected that not only this system is simple, safe, and highly effective but also our method of creating defect structures of MOFs will open a new way to develop multifunctional nanoplatforms for bioapplications.