Biointerface Between ZIF-8 and Biomolecules and their Applications

This review summarized the recent progress of biointerface between zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIF-8) and biological species such as protein, peptides, viruses, cells, and tissues. ZIF-8 has been widely conjugated with bio-entities offering remarkable loading capacity, high chemical stability in physiological environments, and tunable drug release properties. There are several methods to encapsulate biological species into ZIF-8. The synthesis methods such as one-pot synthesis and post-synthetic modification are widely used for the conjugation of biological species and ZIF-8. The biointerface interactions between the biomolecules and ZIF-8 precursors enhanced the synthesis procedure and improved the yield and the properties of the final products. Two enzymes and hybrid conjugation of enzyme and a nanoparticle were also reported. These combinations offered dual functions and provided extra properties such as simple separation of the materials after uses. A brief discussion of the applications of ZIF-8 biocomposite was also covered. This review allowed the readers to acquire insights into the importance of ZIF-8 for the immobilization of biomolecules for biomedicine.