Metal‐Imidazolate Cages as Porous Ionic Liquids: A Nitric Oxide Delivery Therapeutic Platform for Burn Wound Healing
Abstract
Abstract Porous liquids (PLs) are a unique class of materials that combine intrinsic permanent porosity with fluidity, yet their synthesis remains challenging due to cost, sustainability, and scalability. In this work, two poly(ethylene glycol)‐functionalized rhombic dodecahedral tetradecanuclear metal‐imidazolate cages (denoted as 1 and 2) are reported, modified with diethylene glycol (PEG 2 ) and triethylene glycol (PEG 3 ) chains, respectively. Both cages are liquids at room temperature and are obtained via subcomponent self‐assembly of 4‐methyl‐5‐imidazolecarboxaldehyde, Ni 2+ , and NH 2 ‐PEG 2 or NH 2 ‐PEG 3 . Both ionic PLs demonstrate higher nitric oxide (NO) adsorption capacities than their solid‐state counterparts, with 1 showing the highest performance, capturing approximately eight NO molecules per cage. Upon aqueous stimulation, the cages rapidly release NO, effectively killing Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus . To achieve sustained NO release, cage 1 is incorporated into a sodium alginate (SA) hydrogel composite ( 1 @SA), which exhibits prolonged antibacterial activity while promoting angiogenesis and modulating inflammation in vitro. NO‐loaded hydrogel films (NO@ 1 @SA) are fabricated, demonstrating accelerated burn wound healing through slow NO release, which enhances angiogenesis while providing anti‐inflammatory and antibacterial effects. This work not only demonstrates the high potential of metal‐imidazolate cage‐based PLs as exogenous NO delivery platforms but also paves the way for biomedical applications of porous liquids.
Article Details
Authors (8)
Hao‐Jie Zhang
College of Chemistry and Materials Science Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Coordination Chemistry Jinan University Guangzhou Guangdong 510632 P. R. China
Jia‐Feng Tan
Department of Materials Science and Engineering Engineering Research Center of Artificial Organs and Materials Jinan University Guangzhou 510632 P. R. China
Xin‐Shuo Liu
Department of Materials Science and Engineering Engineering Research Center of Artificial Organs and Materials Jinan University Guangzhou 510632 P. R. China
Chuang‐Wei Zhou
College of Chemistry and Materials Science Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Coordination Chemistry Jinan University Guangzhou Guangdong 510632 P. R. China
Cui‐Zhou Luan
State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Molecules and Druggability Assessment College of Chemistry and Materials Science Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Coordination Chemistry Jinan University Guangzhou P. R. China
Hui‐Ping Zhang
College of Chemistry and Materials Science Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Coordination Chemistry Jinan University Guangzhou 510632 China
Li‐Hua Li
Department of Oncology The First People's Hospital of Yunnan Province Kunming China
Xiao‐Ping Zhou
College of Chemistry and Materials Science Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Coordination Chemistry Jinan University Guangzhou 510632 China