Abstract
Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) are a class of porous crystalline
materials made-up of transition-metal cations linked with multidentate organic ligands
by the coordination bonds. The strong, flexible frameworks and the porous structure of
the MOFs establish them as an effective carriers of various functional compounds, such
as gases, drugs, and anti-microbial agents. The MOFs render high loading capacity and
sustained release, which is the desired property in anti-microbial applications. Similar
porous material for the anti-microbial application is Zeolite, however, it is more
complex to synthesize than MOFs. Currently, MOFs are used mainly in catalysis, gas
separation and storage, and water purification applications. In the applications as anti-microbial agents, MOFs are just emerging into the field application from the laboratory
scale. Hence, this chapter discusses the properties, synthetic procedures, anti-bacterial
mechanisms and various forms of MOFs for anti-microbial applications. The MOFs are
often doped with metal nanoparticles, polymers, and metal-polymer complexes. Each
category of MOFs has a different mechanistic approach to inhibiting microbial colony
growth. In this regard, this chapter will provide sufficient information on the MOFs,
which will help to understand their significance in anti-microbial applications and their
scope