Materials science has seen a great deal of advancement and development. The discovery of new types of materials sparked the study of their properties followed by applications ranging from separation, catalysis, optoelectronics, sensing, drug delivery and biomedicine, and many other uses in different fields of science. Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) and covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are a relatively new type of materials with high surface areas and permanent porosity that show great promise for such applications. The current study aims at presenting the recent work achieved in COFs and MOFs for biomedical applications, and to examine some challenges and future directions which the field may take. The paper herein surveys their synthesis, and their use as Drug Delivery Systems (DDS), in non-drug delivery therapeutics and for biosensing and diagnostics.

Two D–A–D systems involving benzofuran and dithienopyrrole as donor blocks and isoindigo as an acceptor unit have been synthesized and their electronic properties have been characterized by UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. A preliminary evaluation of these compounds as active material in organic solar cells shows that the presence or absence of substitution at the nitrogen atom of indigo strongly affects the properties of the material and thus the performances of the resulting solar cells.

Lemon balm is herbal tea used for soothing stomach cramps, indigestion, and nausea. Rosmarinic acid (RA) is one of its chemical constituents known for its therapeutic potentials against cancer, inflammatory and neuronal diseases such as the treatment of neurofibromatosis or prevention from Alzheimer’s diseases (AD). Despite efforts, recovery and purification of RA in high yields has not been entirely successful. Here, we report its aqueous extraction with optimal conditions and decipher the structure by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Using various physical–chemical and biological assays, we highlight its anti-aggregation inhibition potentials against the formation of Tau filaments, one of the hallmarks of AD. We then examine its anti-cancer potentials through reduction of the mitochondrial reductase activity in tumor cells and investigate its electrochemical properties by cyclic voltammetry. Our data demonstrates that RA is a prominent biologically active natural product with therapeutic potentials for drug discovery in AD, cancer therapy and inflammatory diseases.

A bridged pentaphenylene derivative functionalized with dicyanovinylene units LPP(C(CN)₂)₂ has been designed, synthesized and characterized. The optical and electrochemical properties have been carefully studied through a combined experimental and theoretical approach and compared with those of two pentaphenylene derivatives bearing methylenes (LPP) or carbonyl (LPP(O)₂) on the bridgeheads. LPP(C(CN)₂)₂ which possesses a very low LUMO level, ca. −4.02 eV, has been successfully used as an active layer in n-channel OFETs using the epoxy based photoresist SU-8 as a gate insulator. LPP(C(CN)₂)₂ based n-channel OFETs show low voltage functioning (low gate–source and drain–source voltages), high ratio between the on and the off currents (2 × 10⁵), interesting subthreshold swing (S = 1) and excellent stability under electrical stress and in a nitrogen atmosphere. More importantly, we have also shown that LPP(C(CN)₂)₂ based n-channel OFETs present an excellent environmental stability. This work is to the best of our knowledge the first report on bridged pentaphenylene-based semiconductors in n-type OFETs and highlights the potential of such type of material to provide air stable OFETs.