Design and bio-applications of biological metal-organic frameworks

Biological metal-organic frameworks (bioMOFs) are a new subclass of the MOF family. In comparison with traditional MOFs, the bioMOFs are made of multifunctional biologically related ligands (bio-ligand) and metal ions. The bio-ligands confer biological compatibility for traditional MOFs, thus providing many opportunities for a wide array of biological applications. This review highlights the recent advances in the synthesis of bioMOFs comprising multifunctional bio-ligands and metal ions. These bio-ligands include nucleobases, amino acids, peptides, proteins, cyclodextrin, saccharides, and other biomolecules. Furthermore, the potential bio-applications of bioMOFs in several fields such as biomedicine, biosensing and bioimaging, antimicrobial applications, biomimetic catalysis, chiral separation, and environmental protection are also demonstrated.