Dimensional Reduction of Metal–Organic Frameworks for Enhanced Cryopreservation of Red Blood Cells

To increase the red blood cell (RBC) cryopreservation efficiency by metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), a dimensional reduction approach has been proposed. Namely, 3D MOF nanoparticles are progressively reduced to 2D ultra-thin metal–organic layers (MOLs). We found that 2D MOLs are beneficial for enhanced interactions of the interfacial hydrogen-bonded water network and increased utilization of inner ordered structures, due to the higher surface-to-volume ratio. Specifically, a series of hafnium (Hf)-based 2D MOLs with different thicknesses (monolayer to stacked multilayers) and densities of hydrogen bonding sites have been synthesized. Both ice recrystallization inhibition activity (IRI) and RBCs cryopreservation assay confirm the pronounced better IRI activity and excellent cell recovery efficiency (up to ≈63 % at a very low concentration of 0.7 mg mL⁻¹) of thin-layered Hf-MOLs compared to their 3D counterparts, thereby verifying the dimensional reduction strategy to improved cryoprotectant behaviors.