Edible metal-organic frameworks: coordination chemistry, design principles, and delivery functions

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are highly tunable coordination materials that have been widely investigated for adsorption, catalysis, and drug delivery. More recently, interest has emerged in frameworks constructed from biocompatible or food-relevant components, giving rise to the concept of “edible” MOFs for ingestion-related applications. However, this concept remains poorly defined, and the links between coordination chemistry, framework stability, and behavior under gastrointestinal conditions are not yet well established. This review critically examines MOFs built from food-compatible metals and ligands, with emphasis on how metal-ligand coordination, framework topology, and defect chemistry govern their structural stability, host-guest interactions, and release behavior. Cyclodextrin-based MOFs currently dominate the field and demonstrate improved loading, stabilization, and controlled release of hydrophobic or labile bioactives. Beyond these systems, frameworks based on organic acids, amino acids, and other biomolecules highlight a broader but largely underexplored design space of ingestible coordination materials. Across these systems, performance is closely linked to coordination features such as bond strength, aqueous stability, and framework degradation pathways. Despite promising functional properties, significant challenges remain in achieving predictable gastrointestinal release, scalable and food-compatible synthesis, and clear safety and regulatory profiles. Overall, edible MOFs represent an emerging subclass of coordination materials in which molecular-level design must be directly aligned with application constraints, offering new opportunities for integrating framework chemistry with complex delivery functions.