Cytotoxicity Study, Synthesis and Characterization of Metal-Organic Frameworks

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are the crystalline compounds obtained by complexing various metal ions and ligands. The MOFs display unique properties, such as ultrahigh porosity and bulk volume. These materials can be prepared by a solvothermal wet-chemistry method to achieve well-defined single crystals with tunable shape and size. The organic linkers (also called ligands) allow for formation of diversified pore size, topology and surface area (> 6000 g/m2 as reported). The ligands used to produce MOFs in this study are amphiprotic, including carboxylic and amino functional groups. In this thesis, the MOFs derived from the solvothermal chemistry have been extensively studied using two standard cytotoxicity measurements. The nitrogen oxide (NO), which involves in neuronal transmission and modulation in central nervous systems (CNS), was monitored to provide understanding on the cytotoxicity of MOF motifs towards the retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells. The lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay using the RPE whole cells was also carried out to determine whether or not the biochemical pathways are dramatically altered. Additionally, the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), reactive oxygen species (ROS), and singlet oxygen species (SOS) were measured to determine cell viability and observe cytotoxicity of these MOFs. The cytotoxicity using commercially available anti-cancer drug, 7-Ethyl-10-hydroxy-camptothecin (C22H20N2O5, SN-38) was also evaluated for comparison to understand the inhibition of DNA synthesis and damage to the plasma membrane