# Exploring Cyclodextrin-Based MOFs for Drug Delivery: Synthesis, Applications, and Future Perspectives

## TL;DR

This paper reviews cyclodextrin-based metal-organic frameworks (CD-MOFs) as biocompatible materials for drug delivery, highlighting their synthesis and advantages over traditional MOFs.

## Contribution

The paper introduces CD-MOFs as a safer, biocompatible alternative to conventional MOFs for drug delivery applications.

## Key findings

- CD-MOFs are synthesized using non-toxic components like cyclodextrin and metal sources such as KOH and NaOH.
- CD-MOFs form body-centered cubic structures through coordination of hydroxyl groups on d-glucopyranosyl residues.
- CD-MOFs offer advantages in drug delivery due to their biocompatibility and tunable properties.

## Abstract

Three-dimensional (3D) metal–organic frameworks
(MOFs),
are known by various names, such as organic zeolite analogues, 3D
porous coordination polymers, hybrid organic–inorganic materials,
coordination polymers, and metal–organic polymers, are advanced
three-dimensional materials distinguished by their high surface area,
tunable surface properties, and well-defined crystalline structures.
Due to these exceptional characteristics, MOFs have been extensively
explored for applications in diverse fields, including gas storage,
chemical separation, ion exchange, and catalysis. 3D cyclodextrin-based
metal–organic frameworks (CD-MOFs) have emerged as a biocompatible
alternative to conventional MOFs, as they are synthesized using safer,
nontoxic, or lower-toxicity components, thereby eliminating the need
for potentially hazardous metals and organic linkers commonly employed
in traditional MOF synthesis. In CD-MOFs, cyclodextrin molecules serve
as organic linkers, while metal sources, such as KOH, NaOH, and KCl,
provide the necessary metal ions for framework formation. CD-MOFs
form body-centered cubic structures by binding to one of the alkali
metal cations through coordination of the secondary face hydroxyl
groups on the alternate d-glucopyranosyl residues. Beyond
the intrinsic advantages of traditional MOFs, CD-MOFs offer additional
benefits, particularly in drug delivery applications, where biocompatibility
is a crucial factor. These CD-MOFs can be synthesized through various
techniques, and multiple strategies can be employed for drug loading.
This review comprehensively examines the synthesis of 3D CD-MOFs,
their drug loading methodologies, comparative analysis of these methods
in terms of advantages and limitations, and the potential of 3D CD-MOFs
as drug delivery systems.