Metal-organic coordination polymers for delivery of immunomodulatory agents, and infectious disease and cancer vaccines

Metal-organic coordination polymers (CPs) are a broad class of materials that include metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). CPs are highly ordered crystalline materials that are composed of metal ions (or metal ion clusters) and multidentate organic ligands that serve as linkers. One-, two-, and three-dimensional CPs can be formed, with 2D and 3D structures referred to as MOFs. CPs have gained a lot of attention due to attractive structural features like structure versatility and tunability, and well-defined pores that enable the encapsulation of cargo. Further, CPs show a lot of promise for drug delivery applications, but only a very limited number of CPs are currently being evaluated in clinical trials. In this review, we outlined features that are desired for CP-based drug delivery platform, and briefly described most relevant characterization techniques. We highlighted some of the recent efforts directed toward developing CP-based drug delivery platforms with the emphasis on vaccines against cancer, infectious diseases, and viruses. We hope this review will be a helpful guide for those interested in the design and evaluation of CP-based immunological drug delivery platforms.This article is categorized under:Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Nanomedicine for Infectious DiseaseTherapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Nanomedicine for Oncologic Disease

Automated summary

Metal-organic coordination polymers, including metal-organic frameworks, are highly ordered crystalline materials composed of metal ions and organic ligands. They have attracted attention due to their versatile and tunable structures, as well as well-defined pores for encapsulation. CPs have potential for drug delivery, particularly in the field of immunological drug delivery platforms. This review highlights the desired features and relevant characterization techniques for CP-based drug delivery platforms, with a focus on vaccines against cancer, infectious diseases, and viruses.