Improving the drug delivery performance of ZIF-8 with amine functionalization as a 5-fluorouracil nanocarrier
Abstract This study investigates the effect of amine functional groups in ZIF-8 metal–organic frameworks on the loading and release of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). The facile and cost-effective solvent-assisted linker exchange (SALE) method was used to exchange 2-methylimidazole (2-MIM) linkers with 3-ami...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2025-05-01
|
| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-03542-2 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | Abstract This study investigates the effect of amine functional groups in ZIF-8 metal–organic frameworks on the loading and release of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). The facile and cost-effective solvent-assisted linker exchange (SALE) method was used to exchange 2-methylimidazole (2-MIM) linkers with 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole (Atz) in the ZIF-8 structure, which resulted in a synthesis of ZIF-8A with 22, 53, and 74% Atz exchange, respectively. The prepared nanoparticles were characterized by 1H-NMR, XRD, FT-IR, FE-SEM, UV–Vis spectroscopy, and zeta potential analysis. Drug encapsulation efficiency results showed 12% for 5-FU@ZIF-8 which increased to 48% for 5-FU@ZIF-8A(53%). Also, the results of in-vitro experiments exhibited the pH-responsive behavior of nanocarriers and slower release for 5-FU@ZIF-8A(53%) compared to 5-FU@ZIF-8. The increase in drug encapsulation efficiency and slower release is due to the presence of the amine functional group in the structure, which improves the host-guest interactions between drug molecules and linkers. Moreover, the MTT assay was performed on MCF-7 and HFF-2 cell lines which revealed that 5-FU@ZIF-8A(53%) exhibited more significant cytotoxicity toward cancer cells while less toxicity toward normal cells compared to 5-FU@ZIF-8. These findings highlight the capability of amine-functionalized ZIF-8 as an effective drug delivery system for 5-FU and demonstrate the potential of the facial and low-cost SALE approach as a promising technique in nanocarrier development. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2045-2322 |