Metal-Organic Frameworks-Based Fluorescent Nanocomposites for Bioimaging in Living Cells and in vivo^†

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as a class of porous functional materials have attracted more and more attention for biomedical applications. To date, MOFs have been developed for bioimaging based on a series of advantages such as the large surface areas, high porosity, fluorescence functionalities and good biocompatibility. It is worth noting that organic or inorganic fluorescent materials such as fluorescent dyes, quantum dots, metal nanoclusters and nanosheets can combine MOFs or be encapsulated in MOFs to form fluorescent nanocomposites for excellent imaging function. Importantly, excellent imaging capabilities are of great significance in living cells and in vivo for detection, diagnosis and cancer therapy. In this review, we focus on the recent research of the bioimaging in living cells and in vivo based on various MOF-based nanocomposites and their potential biological clinical applications.