On-Demand Degradation of Metal–Organic Framework Based on Photocleavable Dianthracene-Based Ligand

We have designed
a rigid photocleavable dianthracene-based ligand that reacts with
ytterbium as coordination metal ion for the creation of a class of
tridimensional light-degradable metal–organic framework (MOF).
We demonstrated that we can obtain a high level of control on the
disassembly of the MOF formed with this ligand which can be triggered
either through light irradiation or temperature increase. The reversible
4π-4π photodimerization is the intrinsic chemical mechanism
ruling the ligand and MOF cleavage. In the fields of biology and medicine,
MOFs have sparked a strong interest as highly porous vehicles for
drug release but have only been explored so far through the passive
leakage of their payloads. The designed light-degradable MOFs can
potentially overcome this limitation and serve as prototypes for drug
delivery and corresponding therapeutic applications.

本研究设计了一种基于二蒽的刚性光可裂解配体，以镱（ytterbium）作为配位金属离子进行配位反应，进而构建出一类可光降解的三维金属有机框架（metal–organic framework, MOF）。研究表明，由该配体构筑的MOF的解离过程可实现高度可控，其解离可通过光辐照或升温触发。调控配体与MOF裂解的内在化学机制为可逆4π-4π光二聚化。在生物学与医学领域，金属有机框架作为高孔隙率的药物递送载体已引发广泛关注，但此前仅通过其药物载荷的被动渗漏开展相关探索。本研究设计的可光降解MOF有望突破这一局限，可作为药物递送及对应治疗应用的原型体系。