Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for biopreservation: From biomacromolecules, living organisms to biological devices

Abstract Preservation of biological entities (e.g. DNA, enzymes, viruses, microorganisms, biochips, etc.) has presented great potential in industrial catalysis and biomedical engineering due to their enhanced structural stability and biological functionality. However, technology gaps still exist for achieving high encapsulation efficiency with low performance deterioration to provide a universal preservation method for biological entities. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been demonstrated as promising platforms for encapsulation of different bioentities for their structural diversity, versatile tailorability as well as ultrahigh loading capacity. This review comprehensively summarizes the recent progress for encapsulation of bioentity within MOF (bioentity@MOF) via post-synthetic infiltration or in situ encapsulation, and classifies into three sections: biomacromolecules, viruses and living organisms, and biological devices. MOF coating can not only behavior as protective porous exoskeletons to develop enzymatic nanoreactors that allow the access of small substrates through the narrow channel. The emergence of bio-decomposable MOFs can be also employed for preserving functional bioentities (e.g. bio-based therapeutics, clinical biomarkers, cells, viruses, diagnostic biochips, etc.) that can retain their original activities after MOF being eluted. Predictably, the MOF preservation technique might bring in the “technical innovation” in industrial and/or biomedical applications.