The limited availability of effective agents for removing actinides from the lungs significantly restricts the effectiveness of medical treatments for nuclear emergencies. Inhalation is the primary route of internal contamination in 44.3% of actinide-related accidents, leading to the accumulation of radionuclides in the lungs and resulting in infections and potential tumor formation (tumorigenesis). This study focuses on the synthesis of a nanometal−organic framework (nMOF) material called ZIF-71-COOH, which is achieved by post-synthetic carboxyl functionalization of ZIF-71. The material demonstrates high and selective adsorption of uranyl, while also exhibiting increased particle size (≈2100 nm) when it aggregates in the blood, enabling passive targeting of the lungs through mechanical filtration. This unique property facilitates the rapid enrichment and selective recognition of uranyl, making nano ZIF-71-COOH highly effective in removing uranyl from the lungs. The findings of this study highlight the potential of self-aggregated nMOFs as a promising drug delivery system for targeted uranium decorporation in the lungs.
Finding efficient actinide decorporation agents is crucial for public health and the development of the nuclear industry. The current inventory of decorporation agents is predominately limited to a handful of ligands. In this work, a two-dimensional (2D) covalent organic nanosheet (CON) material was rationally designed and tested for in vivo uranium decorporation. This material is extensively grafted with amidoxime (AO), a classic uranium-recognition ligand, which not only provides selective binding sites for uranyl but also expands the interlayer spacing of CON, making the active sites more accessible. Significantly, the results of in vivo experiments demonstrate that, in both prophylactic and prompt administration groups, CON-AO exhibits a higher excretion ratio of uranium from kidneys than that of ZnNa3-diethylenetriamine pentaacetate (DTPA), while presenting a similar level of cytotoxicity. These results suggest that functionalized CONs may emerge as a promising type of actinide in vivo decorporation agent.