Photogenerated Radical Amplified D–A–D Metal‐Covalent Organic Frameworks for Highly Efficient Photodynamic Tumor Therapy

Abstract While metal covalent organic frameworks (MCOFs) possess excellent optical properties and electron transport capabilities, their performance in antitumor therapy is hampered by limited compositional diversity. This constraint impedes the nonradiative relaxation of excited states and reduces the efficiency of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. Here, we rationally designed a tri‐component electron donor–acceptor–donator (D–A–D) type MCOFs (CuTD‐COF). Compared to the two‐component D–A type MCOFs (CuT‐COF), CuTD‐COF exhibits an extended excited‐state lifetime, enhanced light‐harvesting capability due to its narrow band gap, and intensified photoradical effects, thereby achieving potent tumor suppression. Mechanistically, the D–A–D structured CuTD‐COF utilizes multiple electron‐transfer pathways. These enhance intra‐layer charge transport, reduce exciton binding energies, accelerate photogenerated carrier separation/migration, and suppress charge recombination, collectively boosting ROS generation. This yields potent photodynamic cytotoxicity in vitro and outstanding antitumor efficacy in HCT116 xenografts. Combined experimental and DFT studies reveal that distinct exciton behavior in regulating ROS generation between two D–A–D MCOFs stems from their divergent band energetics and O 2 adsorption energies. This work not only diversifies photoelectronic architectures in MCOFs but also advances cancer phototherapy development.

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Publication Details

Journal
Angewandte Chemie
Published
2025-11-29
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/ange.202520867
Primary Topic
Nanoplatforms for cancer theranostics
Type
article
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article

Photogenerated Radical Amplified D–A–D Metal‐Covalent Organic Frameworks for Highly Efficient Photodynamic Tumor Therapy

Shuang Wu, Jing Yan Huang, Jin Wang, Geoffrey I. N. Waterhouse et al.
Angewandte Chemie
Nanoplatforms for cancer theranostics
article

Photogenerated Radical Amplified D–A–D Metal‐Covalent Organic Frameworks for Highly Efficient Photodynamic Tumor Therapy

Shuang Wu, Jing Yan Huang, Jin Wang, Geoffrey I. N. Waterhouse, Jing Qian, Youfa Wang, Pengfei Dong, Vijaya Raghavan
article en

Abstract

Abstract While metal covalent organic frameworks (MCOFs) possess excellent optical properties and electron transport capabilities, their performance in antitumor therapy is hampered by limited compositional diversity. This constraint impedes the nonradiative relaxation of excited states and reduces the efficiency of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. Here, we rationally designed a tri‐component electron donor–acceptor–donator (D–A–D) type MCOFs (CuTD‐COF). Compared to the two‐component D–A type MCOFs (CuT‐COF), CuTD‐COF exhibits an extended excited‐state lifetime, enhanced light‐harvesting capability due to its narrow band gap, and intensified photoradical effects, thereby achieving potent tumor suppression. Mechanistically, the D–A–D structured CuTD‐COF utilizes multiple electron‐transfer pathways. These enhance intra‐layer charge transport, reduce exciton binding energies, accelerate photogenerated carrier separation/migration, and suppress charge recombination, collectively boosting ROS generation. This yields potent photodynamic cytotoxicity in vitro and outstanding antitumor efficacy in HCT116 xenografts. Combined experimental and DFT studies reveal that distinct exciton behavior in regulating ROS generation between two D–A–D MCOFs stems from their divergent band energetics and O 2 adsorption energies. This work not only diversifies photoelectronic architectures in MCOFs but also advances cancer phototherapy development.

Angewandte ChemieVol. 138(4)
University of Auckland (NZ), Ministry of Education (SA), McGill University (CA), Southeast University (CN)
Openalex Percentile: Top 63%
Nanoplatforms for cancer theranostics
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