Biphase Stratification Approach to Three-Dimensional Dendritic Biodegradable Mesoporous Silica Nanospheres

Abstract

A kind of novel uniform monodispersed three-dimensional dendritic mesoporous silica nanospheres (3D-dendritic MSNSs) has been successfully synthesized for the first time. The 3D-dendritic MSNSs can have hierarchical mesostructure with multigenerational, tunable center-radial, and dendritic mesopore channels. The synthesis was carried out in the heterogeneous oil-water biphase stratification reaction system, which allowed the self-assembly of reactants taking place in the oil-water interface for one-pot continuous interfacial growth. The average pore size of each generation for the 3D-dendritic MSNSs can be adjusted from 2.8 to 13 nm independently, which can be controlled by the varied hydrophobic solvents and concentration of silica source in the upper oil phase. The thickness of each generation can be tuned from ∼ 5 to 180 nm as desired, which can be controlled by the reaction time and amount of silica source. The biphase stratification approach can also be used to prepare other core-shell and functional mesoporous materials such as Au nanoparticle@3D-dendritic MSNS and Ag nanocube@3D-dendritic MSNS composites. The 3D-dendritic MSNSs show their unique advantage for protein loading and releasing due to their tunable large pore sizes and smart hierarchical mesostructures. The maximum loading capacity of bovine β-lactoglobulin with 3D-dendritic MSNSs can reach as high as 62.1 wt % due to their large pore volume, and the simulated protein releasing process can be tuned from 24 to 96 h by flexible mesostructures. More importantly, the releasing rates are partly dependent on the hierarchical biodegradation, because the 3D-dendritic MSNSs with larger pore sizes have faster simulated biodegradation rates in simulated body fluid. The most rapid simulated biodegradation can be finished entirely in 24 h, which has been greatly shortened than two weeks for the mesoporous silica reported previously. As the inorganic mesoporous materials, 3D-dendritic MSNSs show excellent biocompatibility, and it would have a hopeful prospect in the clinical applications.

Biodegradable and Renal Clearable Inorganic Nanoparticles

“…Very recently, a dendritic mesoporous silica structure with tunable pore size (ranging from 2–13 nm) was developed, and showed a faster biodegradation rate (byproduct: silicic acid) in simulated body fluid for MSN with a larger pore size (≈10 nm, Figure 2 ). 40 In another study, mesoporous organosilica nanoparticles (MONs) with a large pore size (8–13 nm) were developed by using a micelle/precursor co‐templating assembly strategy 41. Hollow MONs with up to five different organic hybridizations were further created for high intensity focused ultrasound‐responsive drug‐release by the same research group 42.…”

Focused Ultrasound‐Augmented Delivery of Biodegradable Multifunctional Nanoplatforms for Imaging‐Guided Brain Tumor Treatment

“…Compared with traditional organic nanosystems, biodegradable inorganic nanoplatforms have attracted widespread attention due to their intrinsic characteristics including multifunctionality, excellent biocompatibility, and relatively high stability in the body fluids, as well as controlled release of therapeutic agents from nanocarriers in the desired sites, especially in the tumor cells 1. Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common and malignant primary brain tumor with a 5 year survival rate of less than 5% 2.…”

Core‐Cone Structured Monodispersed Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles with Ultra‐large Cavity for Protein Delivery

“…Recently, MSNs with radial pore structures [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] have been synthesized using oil and water systems with promising applications such as siRNA (≈14 KDa) delivery. [ 17 ] MSNs with fi brous, [ 13 ] dendritic, [ 15,16,20 ] radial wrinkle, [ 14 ] or chrysanthemum-like radial pore structures [ 19 ] were prepared through various synthesis protocols and explained by different mechanisms. Uniform pores as large as 13 nm have been obtained.…”

“…Uniform pores as large as 13 nm have been obtained. [ 16 ] However, further increasing the pore size typically leads to irregular pores which cannot be characterized by nitrogen sorption analysis. [ 15,20 ] The highest pore volume of MSNs with radial structures yet reported is 1.66 cm 3 g −1 .…”