Current and promising applications of Hf(iv)-based MOFs in clinical cancer therapy

Cancer is one of the greatest challenges in medical science today as it poses a serious threat to human life. In view of this, myriad of therapeutic strategies are being developed for the treatment of cancer. Despite the use of various therapeutic approaches, they are still insufficient for the treatment of cancer. The rapid advancement of nanotechnology currently offers exciting possibilities for the creation of novel cancer therapy approaches. Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) are emerging multifunctional nanomaterials that find prospective applications in the biomedical field owing to their porosity, large specific surface area, and diversified structures. Amongst varied categories of MOFs, Hf(IV)-based MOFs that have been developed since 2012 and currently have been finding new applications and hence this class of MOFs are gaining immense attention amongst the material and biomaterial chemists. Most importantly, Hf(IV)-MOFs comprising high Z-Hf metal content may be capable of offering new therapeutic options for cancer therapy, nonlinear optics, as fluorescent sensors, and photoresponsive devices. In this review, the progress in Hf(IV)-based MOFs for the treatment of cancer using radiotherapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, phototherapeutic techniques, or a combination of two or more of these techniques have been explored. This review also provides insight regarding the current limitations and future prospects of Hf(IV)-MOFs for cancer therapy.