Innovative carrier in cancer therapy: utilization of ZIF-8 as a nanocarrier for combination cancer pharmacotherapy: a review

Metal–Organic Frameworks (MOFs) have rapidly emerged as versatile nanoparticles system for their use in biomedical field, especially in drug delivery. Of the materials in this class, zeolitic imidazolate framework ZIF-8 has recently captured significant interest due to its tunable structure and significant potential for surface modification. It is these same features which allow ZIF-8 to act as a suitable carrier in both single agent and combination therapy. In particular, surface chemistry will be reiterated throughout the present article as significant in improving the physicochemical stability, biocompatibility and targeted drug delivery of the materials. In addition, through well-designed modification strategies ZIF-8 herein we propose to show controlled release profiles, improved colloidal stability, and improved therapeutic efficacy. This review will discuss recent advances made in the surface engineering of ZIF-8 and present salient design principles and functionalisation techniques and their usefulness in the area of drug-delivery applications.