# Extended Lithium Release from Metal-Organic Frameworks for Therapeutic Applications

> **NIH NIH F32** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY · 2020 · $65,310

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Lithium salts have been used to treat severe bipolar disorder and major depression for decades, especially in
instances with high suicide risk, and lithium remains their most effective treatment today. Despite its efficacy,
lithium's therapeutic window is narrow, since it is difficult to maintain an effective concentration in the body
without incurring severely detrimental side effects. This proposal aims to use metal-organic frameworks, a
crystalline and porous class of hybrid organic-inorganic materials, for the slow and extended release of lithium
as a therapeutic treatment for mood disorders. Metal-organic frameworks, as robust, tunable, and structurally
well-defined materials, offer the advantages of facile modification and characterization. Through judicious choice
of metals nodes, organic linkers, and guest species it will be possible to tune the thermodynamics and kinetics
of Li+ uptake and release. Strategies for lithium interaction will include appending small organic molecules to
open metal coordination sites, incorporating lithium-binding functional groups onto the backbones of organic
linkers, and post-synthetically exchanging lithium for framework cations while maintaining crystallinity. Potential
frameworks of interest will be synthesized using standard organic and inorganic synthesis methods and then
subjected to a diverse toolbox of characterization techniques including: powder and single-crystal X-ray
diffraction, gas sorption measurements, solution and solid-state NMR spectroscopy, and multiple forms of
elemental analysis. Lithium uptake and release will be monitored via solution-state isotherms and kinetic
measurements as well as by crystallographic and spectroscopy analysis of the frameworks in their (de)lithiated
states. Promising materials will be iteratively improved and subjected to simulated biological conditions for the
release of lithium. If successful, this project will position metal-organic frameworks as a versatile platform for
addressing the important health challenge of treating severe neurological disorders with lithium. This research
will take place in a supportive environment centered within a lab group that has a wealth of expertise in the
synthesis and characterization of porous materials. The research will be assisted by a host of long-standing
industrial, academic, and national lab collaborations. In addition to significant training in experimental techniques,
this project will include guidance toward an academic faculty career, training in responsible conduct of research,
professional development through interaction with scientific colleagues, and opportunities for mentorship of other
students and researchers.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9857478
- **Project number:** 5F32GM131587-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY
- **Principal Investigator:** Adam Jaffe
- **Activity code:** F32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $65,310
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-01-01 → 2021-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9857478

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9857478, Extended Lithium Release from Metal-Organic Frameworks for Therapeutic Applications (5F32GM131587-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9857478. Licensed CC0.

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