The work described herein explores the synthesis and characterization of porous, crystalline materials known as metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) – comprised of metal nodes bridged by multitopic organic linkers. Owing to their high modularity, tunable pore shapes and sizes, and high surface areas, they are promising drug vectors for applications in drug delivery. Chapters 2 and 3 delve into the different approaches for applying MOFs in ophthalmic drug delivery applications.

Chapter 2 explores the design and synthesis of nanosized MOFs including MOF-808, UiO-66, and UiO-67. The synthesis and characterization of the nanoMOFs is described and the nanoMOFs are subject to post-synthetic modification with thiolated ligands to study the potential for mucoadhesive properties in these materials towards drug delivery applications. A series of characterization techniques, including probing the mucoadhesion, are presented with the goal of understanding how the nanoscale size and thiol-functionalization can affect the mucoadhesive properties of MOFs. 

Chapter 3 looks into the synthesis and characterization of a series of nanosized thiol-functionalized MOFs with mixed linkers. A series of UiO-66 analogues comprised of increasing concentrations of 2,5-dimercaptoterepthalic acid (BDC-(SH)2) is synthesized mixed with the standard UiO-66 linker, 1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid (BDC). The mixed-linker MOFs are characterized with the goal of understanding how increasing incorporation of BDC-(SH)2 affects the surface area, mucoadhesive properties and potential drug delivery capacity of these materials.