REVIEW article
Front. Med.
Sec. Translational Medicine
Recent advances in metal-organic frameworks for therapeutic applications in periodontitis
Provisionally accepted
- Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Hangzhou, China
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Periodontitis is a highly prevalent chronic inflammatory disease that leads to the destruction of periodontal tissues and has systemic health implications. Current treatments, such as mechanical debridement and antibiotics, are often inadequate due to poor biofilm penetration, drug resistance, and limited regenerative capacity. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have recently emerged as a transformative platform to address these limitations and surpass traditional nanomaterials (e.g., liposomes, dendrimers). Their tunable porosity, multifunctional composition, and responsive degradation enable antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and pro-regenerative actions. This review highlights the mechanisms by which MOFs combat periodontal pathogens, resolve inflammation, and promote tissue regeneration, outperforming conventional materials. We also discuss combinatorial strategies, such as photodynamic and immunomodulatory therapies, that enhance treatment efficacy. Despite promising preclinical results, challenges in biocompatibility, biodegradation, and clinical translation remain. Future efforts should focus on developing intelligent, multifunctional MOF platforms capable of microenvironment-responsive therapy to achieve complete periodontal restoration.
Keywords: Metal-organic framework, Periodontitis, Antibacterial effect, anti-inflammation, Tissue Regeneration
Received: 16 Sep 2025; Accepted: 27 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Chen, Bai, Ding, Wang, Zhang and Yang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Linhong Wang, wanglinhong@hmc.edu.cn
Wentao Zhang, zhangwentao@hmc.edu.cn
Fan Yang, yangfan@hmc.edu.cn
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.