The accelerating convergence of environmental degradation and human health risk has intensified the search for advanced materials capable of addressing pollution, resource scarcity, and disease without introducing new hazards. Over the past decade, two nanomaterial families, MXenes and metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), have emerged as transformative platforms at this health–environment interface, driven by unparalleled chemical and structural tunability. However, this same tunability complicates prediction of long-term behaviour and potential unintended consequences as materials traverse environmental, industrial, and biomedical exposure pathways.

This review critically surveys approximately ten years of emerging literature to map synthesis trends, structure–property relationships, and application trajectories of MXenes and MOFs across water and soil treatment, air quality control, antimicrobial technologies, agricultural applications and nanomedicine. Particular emphasis is placed on post-2023 advances, including termination-engineered and hybrid MXenes, defect- and composite-engineered MOFs, and the growing role of advanced/green synthesis routes. By integrating recent OECD safety assessments, the review considers both material classes dynamic systems whose life-cycle transformations, degradation products, and exposure profiles must be evaluated alongside functional performance.

The work presented critically reviews the current state of the art and identifies key limitations in toxicity assessment, stability, scalability, and regulatory readiness, while highlighting safer-by-design strategies capable of aligning innovation with responsibility. Ultimately, the review positions MXenes and MOFs not only as enabling technologies for environmental and biomedical applications, but also as critical test cases for the future governance of sustainable nanotechnology.