Lipid-Metal-Organic Framework Colloidosomes for Multimodal Encapsulation and Pollutant Capture

The development of stable colloidosomes capable of accommodating chemically distinct molecular species while retaining accessible porosity remains an important challenge for multifunctional encapsulation and pollutant-capture applications. Here, we develop a hybrid lipid-metal-organic framework (lipid-MOF) colloidosome assembled through an interfacial emulsification strategy that integrates the structural rigidity of zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 particles with lipid-mediated membrane stabilization. During assembly, zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 particles accumulate at the oil-water interface to form a shell, producing hollow micron-sized spherical colloidosomes. The resulting colloidosomes exhibit excellent colloidal stability in aqueous media for more than 30 d with a zeta potential of approximately -50 mV. Nitrogen adsorption measurements reveal a surface area of 45 m² g^-1 and an average pore width of 4 nm for the dried composite following vacuum degassing at 100 °C for 24 h. Fluorescence imaging shows that hydrophobic Nile Red preferentially partitions into the colloidosomal membrane, whereas hydrophilic fluorescein isothiocyanate (t) localizes predominantly within the aqueous interior. The lipid-MOF colloidosomes enable encapsulation of hydrophilic methylene blue molecules with loading efficiencies approaching 90%. Furthermore, the colloidosomes demonstrate rapid removal of model pollutants from water, achieving >90% removal of methylene blue and metal ions without stirring. Together, these results introduce lipid-MOF colloidosomes as a new class of hybrid platforms that unify structural stability, multicompartmental encapsulation, and efficient adsorption behavior, opening pathways toward sustainable platforms for drug delivery application and environmental bioremediation.