pH-sensitive metal-organic framework carrier decorated with chitosan for controlled drug release

Satisfactory chemotherapeutic efficiency depends on improving the insufficient selectivity of chemotherapeutic drugs and decreasing damages to healthy tissues/cells, hence, the reasonable design and construction of drug carriers are of great significance in tumor treatment. Herein, the pH-sensitive MOF carrier was developed via the decoration of 4-formylphenylboronic acid (4-FPBA) for controlled 5'-deoxy-5-fluorocytidine (DFCR) release with selectivity. Besides, chitosan (CS) was introduced as the "gatekeeper" for the prevention of drug leakage. In vitro tests prove the good biocompatibility of the MOF carrier and desired tumor cells killing efficiency. Notably, the designed drug carrier decorated with CS in our work demonstrates a prospective candidate in tumor microenvironment-triggered DFCR release in tumor therapy.