Covalent organic framework nanoparticles for anti-tumor gene therapy

Covalent organic framework (COF) materials have great development value in the biomedical field. However, the huge size and poor dispersion of COF materials severely limit their application. Here we successfully prepared COF nanoparticles with uniform size and good dispersion under the assistance of microwave. By adding some cationic polymers or small amine molecules, the dispersibility of COF could be further improved and its surface charge also increased. The prepared cationic COF nanoparticles (CLZU NPs) had excellent gene transfection ability and good biocompatibility. Designing low-toxic and high-efficiency gene carrier is an important mission in the field of gene therapy. This COF-based gene vector provides a new direction for gene carrier design.