Showing Spotlights 1 - 8 of 15 in category All (newest first):
Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) rank among the best materials for catalysis, gas storage and gas storage and processing. So far, more than 20 000 different MOFs have been fabricated and characterized. A crucial issue for designing MOF-based solids is about finding the best comprise between the material's porosity and its mechanical resistance in relation to a specific application. To do that, researchers have developed a modified 3D printer for the controlled deposition of inks, formulated from different MOF powders. This robocasting provides perfect control on the size and morphology of the final solid.
Feb 26th, 2020
The combination of multiple therapeutic modalities with synergetic effects is a promising approach to enhance antibacterial efficiency and possibly decrease the needed concentration of bactericidal reagents. In new work, scientists report a path to achieve efficient localized bacterial eradication and anti-infective therapy by combining the advantages of 2D graphene and metal organic framework (MOF)-derived carbon nanomaterials. This proposed MOF-derived 2D carbon nanosheets (2D-CNs) can form aggregations spontaneously under NIR irradiation and meanwhile exhibit localized triple bactericidal modalities.
Jan 2nd, 2020
Reverse osmosis (RO) is one of the most effective desalination technologies for producing freshwater from seawater. The reverse osmosis membrane water reclamation processes is very energy intensive - not exactly an advantage given the rising cost of energy and the negative climate impact of fossil fuels. In a new study, researchers found that metal-organic frameworks (MOF) allow higher water flux compared to other 2D materials while rejecting almost 100% of unwanted ions.
Dec 11th, 2019
A critical challenge in gene therapy is the safe and effective delivery of genetic materials across cell membranes into target cells. Although viral systems have been the most effective method for delivering genetic matter into cells, they pose significant safety problems. Demonstrating a novel alternative delivery vector, researchers have developed a facile one-pot strategy to encapsulate plasmid DNA into nanoscale metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and a MOF-polymer system Experiments showed that pDNA molecules could be well distributed throughout the MOF nanostructures and benefited from effective protection against the enzymatic degradation.
Jun 13th, 2019
By applying concepts developed in micro- and nanorobotics, researchers demonstrate the controlled motion and delivery of cargo payloads embedded in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). The helical MOF-based micromachine, propelled by artificial bacterial flagella, can swim and follow complex trajectories in three dimensions under the control of weak rotational magnetic fields. These swimmers are tumor-responsiv and can act as selectively automated and targeted drug delivery platforms.
May 20th, 2019
Directly carbonizing from organic precursors is the most frequently used method to prepare nanoporous carbons, widely used as electrode materials, due to its flexibility and simplicity. These materials present certain drawbacks, though, such as low surface areas, disordered structures, and non-uniform sizes, which will greatly limit their applications. However, researchers found that carbon materials derived from metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) could overcome these limitations. A review summarizes the applications of MOF-derived carbon materials.
Feb 20th, 2019
Scientists propose a novel tumor treatment strategy for simultaneous ablating tumor and inhibiting infection by using specially designed biodegradable metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). The strategy of simultaneous eradicating tumor tissue and inhibiting infection can inspire the researchers with novel progressing technologies for tumor therapy. This novel strategy opens the door for developing the nanomaterials that are sensitive to microwave irradiation and inhibiting infection to achieve noninvasive combined treatment in clinical practice.
Jul 23rd, 2018
Researchers have demonstrated materials and techniques to achieve highly sensitive flexible biosensors integrated with metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) - essentially inorganic-organic hybrids that contain repeated metal ions connected with organic ligands. These high-throughput flexible devices can achieve highly specific and sensitive electrochemical detection and can be used to monitor neurotransmitters and nutrients in vivo.
Jun 13th, 2018
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