Zeolitic Imidazolate Frameworks (ZIF-8) for Biomedical Applications: A Review

Beyond being an excellent protective material for bioentities, zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIF-8) have advanced several applications, including biomedical applications. The straightforward synthesis of ZIF-8 at mild conditions improved the biomineralization of several biomolecules, e.g., protein, peptides, carbohydrate, and biological cells, such as viruses and bacterial cells. Bioinspiration of ZIF-8 enhanced and improved the material's applications for biomedicine. This review article summarized the recent achievements of ZIF-8 for biomedical applications such as cancer therapy, antimicrobial, biosensing, and biocatalysis. ZIF8-based materials advanced cancer therapy via drug delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs, photothermal therapy (PTT), photodynamic therapy (PDT), chemodynamic therapy (CDT), gene therapy, and starvation therapy. Antibacterial agent encapsulated ZIF-8 exhibited superior biological activity compared to the free antibacterial agents. ZIF-8 based materials enhanced the selectivity and sensitivity for analytes' biosensing, ensuring their potential for electronic devices. Biocatalysis of enzyme encapsulated ZIF-8 offered high catalytic performance with robust properties for recycling. ZIF-8 acts as a protective host for enzymes, proteins, and drugs from degradation induced due to temperature, solvents, and proteolytic agents. The first part of the review discussed the structure, chemistry, and bioinspiration of ZIF-8. The second part reviewed the biomedical applications of ZIF-8. The potential risks and current challenges of using ZIF-8 for biomedical applications were also reviewed.