Therapeutic coordination polymers: tailoring drug release through metal-ligand interactions.

Developing tunable materials which exhibit sustained drug release is a considerable challenge. Herein, we report the concept of Therapeutic Coordination Polymers (TCPs); non-porous coordination polymers constructed from biocompatible components which demonstrate tunable zero-order drug release kinetics upon degradation of metal-ligand bonds. TCPs were constructed from three principal components: (i) a cationic metal center (M = Mg, Mn, Zn, or Cu); (ii) an anionic drug (Diclofenac); and (iii) an alkyl bis-imidazole organic ligand which behaves as a "linker" between metal centers.