Abstract

Porphyrinic metal-organic framework (MOF) nanoparticles for photodynamic therapy solve the photosensitizer problems of poor solubility, self-quenching and aggregation. However, their low selectivity towards malignant tissues is an obstacle for bioimaging and a bottle-neck to cellular uptake for highly efficient photodynamic therapy of cancer. Here, ZrMOF nanoparticles as quenchers to conjugate DNA aptamers were developed for target-induced bioimaging and photodynamic therapy. A phosphate-terminal aptamer prepared by solid-phase DNA synthesis was anchored on the surface of ZrMOF nanoparticles through strong coordination between phosphate and zirconium. Based on π-π stacking-induced quenching of TAMRA by ZrMOF nanoparticles, target-induced imaging is achieved due to the structural change of the aptamer upon binding with the target. Aptamer-conjugated ZrMOF nanoparticles with target binding ability significantly enhanced the photodynamic therapy effect. Furthermore, phosphate-terminal aptamer conjugation method can be generalized to other types of MOF nanomaterials, such as UiO-66 and HfMOF nanoparticles, which can be potentially used in biochemistry.

Highlights

  • As emerging materials, nanoscale metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are attracting intense interest in different areas such as energy storage,[1,2,3] catalysis,[4,5,6,7] and especially biochemical applications[8,9,10,11] in sensing, nanomedicine and bioimaging, due to their well-de ned structure with unique physical and chemical properties.[12]

  • Zr-based porphyrinic MOF (ZrMOF) nanoparticles were synthesized using ZrOCl2, tetra(4-carboxyphenyl)porphine (TCPP) and benzoic acid according to a literature report.[13]

  • TEM indicated that the size of a ZrMOF nanoparticle is around 110 nm (Fig. 1a), and dynamic light scattering demonstrated a uniform size distribution of ZrMOF nanoparticles (Fig. S2†)

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Summary

Introduction

Nanoscale metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are attracting intense interest in different areas such as energy storage,[1,2,3] catalysis,[4,5,6,7] and especially biochemical applications[8,9,10,11] in sensing, nanomedicine and bioimaging, due to their well-de ned structure with unique physical and chemical properties.[12]. ZrMOF nanoparticles as quenchers to conjugate DNA aptamers for target-induced bioimaging and photodynamic therapy† ZrMOF nanoparticles as quenchers to conjugate DNA aptamers were developed for target-induced bioimaging and photodynamic therapy.

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