Metal-Organic Frameworks as an Appropriate Platform for Controlled Drug Release

Herein we used MOFs as a platform for controlled drug release and reported a technique, which pharmaceutical agents are encapsulated in a zinc zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-8). In this work, metformin, an oral antihyperglycemic agent for the treatment of type II diabetes trapped inside the ZIF-8 pores through a mechanochemical ball-milling technique. Due to having regular porosity and zinc ions, ZIF-8 could help to better absorption of metformin. The synthesis of the MOF and the encapsulating process of the drug were performed by using a convenient solvent-free one pot technique. It was shown that with this approach, metformin is released in the stomach via a controlled manner over a longer time that leads to increases of metformin bioavailability.