MOF-derived nano-popcorns synthesized by sonochemistry as efficient sensitizers for tumor microwave thermal therapy

Microwave (MW) thermal therapy has been vigorously developed in recent years because of its better therapeutic efficiency and smaller side effects compared with traditional tumor treatment methods. In order to promote the tumor cell apoptosis under MW irradiation and achieve better therapeutic effect and prognosis, various microwave sensitizers have been developed. Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) have become one of the most popular materials for microwave sensitization due to their diverse morphology, porous surface and good biodegradability. However, the harsh preparation conditions and long growth time are insurmountable shortcomings of MOFs. Besides, the spongy porous structure of MOFs is not conducive to the retention of ions, leading to insufficient friction and collision between ions under MW radiation. Herein, we synthesized a kind of open-mouthed Zr MOF-derived nano-popcorns (ZDNPs) with the size of about 250 nm by a rapid sonochemical aerosol flow strategy. Compared with UIO-66, the open-mouthed ZDNPs have a better ability to entrap more ions due to their big cracks on the surface, thus improving their MW sensitization performance. The MW heating experiments in vitro present that the net temperature change value of ZDNP was 120% higher than UIO-66 at the same concentration, proving that ZDNP had a higher MW-thermo conversion efficiency than UIO-66, which provided an unprecedented direction for the exploration of more diversified MW sensitizers.