Pore-interface engineering improves doxorubicin loading to triazine-based covalent organic framework

High drug-loading capacity is the most advantageous property of porous nanocarriers for cancer therapy. Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are a novel class of porous nanocarriers that have been explored for drug delivery because of their tuneable textural properties and pore-surface functionalization. The primary focus of this study is to determine the dominant factor influencing drug loading in COFs. These results highlight the importance of pore-wall functionalization over the surface area to achieve a high drug-loading capacity and better drug-COF interaction. In vitro biological studies confirmed the biocompatibility of bare COFs and the efficacy of doxorubicin-loaded COF in killing cancer cells. In essence, the findings of this study suggest focussing on drug-COF interactions rather than high crystallinity and surface area for enhanced drug loading. Pore-surface engineering improves anticancer drug loading over surface area enhancement in COFs.