| dc.description.abstract | In the first part of this dissertation, the aldehyde groups of Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework-90 (ZIF-90) were converted into carboxyl, amino, and thiol groups, which were named ZIF-90-C, ZIF-90-A and ZIF-90-T respectively, confirmed by the spectrometric investigations. X-ray diffraction patterns and N2 adsorption isotherm showed that the crystallinity and porosity of the framework were not affected. Remarkably, the micropore volume in ZIF-90-C and ZIF-90-A were retained almost 80% due to the mild reaction condition and the optimal reactant equivalence. According to zeta-potential analysis, the positive charge on surface of ZIF-90-A was significantly enhanced, which implies dispersion stability in water and affinity to slightly negatively charged cell surface. In addition to the surface charge enhancement, the moderate in vitro cytotoxicity of the transformers, as reported by AlamarBlue assay on HEK293 cell line, revealed the functionalization opens a new way for ZIF-90 in bioapplications.
In the second part, on the basis of our previous publication regarding embedded enzyme in MOF crystals, the guest molecules in this study was changing from enzyme to DNA. By adding polyvinylpyrrolidone together with plasmid into the aqueous ZIF-90 synthesis condition, the plasmid could be surrounded by the ZIF-90 framework. The X-ray diffraction patterns and the Scanning Electron Microscope image indicated the crystallinity and the morphology of ZIF-90 were intact after imbedding plasmid. Additionally, agarose gel electrophoresis primarily confirmed the nucleic acid component in acid-digested DNA/ZIF-90 complex material. It is worth mentioning that loading efficiency of plasmid and integrity of the nucleotide sequence need to be further studied. The ease of functionalization for DNA/ZIF-90 complex material is expected to be a benefit to gene delivery.
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