Covalent Organic Frameworks: Opportunities for Rational Materials Design in Cancer Therapy
Le-Le Zhou1, Qun Guan1,2, Yu-Bin Dong1
1College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Collaborative Innovation Center of Functionalized Probes for Chemical Imaging in Universities of Shandong, Key Laboratory of Molecular and Nano Probes, Ministry of Education, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, 250014, China.
Abstract:
Nanomedicines are extensively used in cancer therapy. Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are crystalline organic porous materials with several benefits for cancer therapy, including porosity, design flexibility, functionalizability, and biocompatibility. This review examines the use of COFs in cancer therapy from the perspective of reticular chemistry and function-oriented materials design. First, the modification sites and functionalization methods of COFs are discussed, followed by their potential as multifunctional nanoplatforms for tumor targeting, imaging, and therapy by integrating functional components. Finally, some challenges in the clinical translation of COFs are presented with the hope of promoting the development of COF-based anticancer nanomedicines and bringing COFs closer to clinical trials.
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