Cytostatic and Cytotoxic Effects of Hollow-Shell Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles Containing Magnetic Iron Oxide

Abstract

Among the different types of nanoparticles used in biomedical applications, Fe nanoparticles and mesoporous siliceous materials have been extensively investigated because of their possible theranostic applications. Here, we present hollow-shell mesoporous silica nanoparticles that encapsulate iron oxide and that are prepared using a drug-structure-directing agent concept (DSDA), composed of the model drug tryptophan modified by carbon aliphatic hydrocarbon chains. The modified tryptophan can behave as an organic template that allows directing the hollow-shell mesoporous silica framework, as a result of its micellisation and subsequent assembly of the silica around it. The one-pot synthesis procedure facilitates the incorporation of hydrophobically stabilised iron oxide nanoparticles into the hollow internal silica cavities, with the model drug tryptophan in the shell pores, thus enabling the incorporation of different functionalities into the all-in-one nanoparticles named mesoporous silica nanoparticles containing magnetic iron oxide (Fe3O4@MSNs). Additionally, the drug loading capability and the release of tryptophan from the silica nanoparticles were examined, as well as the cytostaticity and cytotoxicity of the Fe3O4@MSNs in different colon cancer cell lines. The results indicate that Fe3O4@MSNs have great potential for drug loading and drug delivery into specific target cells, thereby overcoming the limitations associated with conventional drug formulations, which are unable to selectively reach the sites of interest.

Magnetic Spinel Ferrite Nanoparticles: From Synthesis to Biomedical Applications

“…Thus, magnetite NPs were obtained by co-precipitation, stabilized by coating agents, and encapsulated in hollow-shell mesoporous silica NPs (Fe3O4@MSN) with the aim of drug loading and drug delivery application, as shown in Fig. 5 [81].…”

“…Fig. 5 TEM and STEM images of Fe3O4@MSN.Black and white arrows correspond to Fe3O4 Reprinted with permission from [81], Copyright 2021, MDPI. Magnetite NPs synthesized using chemical coprecipitation were functionalized with curcumoid -extracted from the Curcuma long plant acting as a fluorescent biomarker and used to form a multicore nanocomposite encapsulated with silica as a prospective theranostic platform [80].…”

Synthesis of Multi-Stimuli Responsive Fe3O4 Coated with Diamonds Nanocomposite for Magnetic Assisted Chemo-Photothermal Therapy

“…Additionally, it has been used as a magnetic resonance image (MRI) contrast agent for early diagnosis and real-time monitoring tumor therapy [ 30 , 31 , 32 ]. Thus, endowing ND with magnetism properties is extremely attractive [ 31 , 33 , 34 ]. In addition, there were few reports on magnetic nanodiamond as a nanodrug delivery system for tumor magnetic targeted therapy so far.…”

Template-free preparation of iron oxide loaded hollow silica spheres and their anticancer proliferation capabilities

“… 22 MMSNs with a raspberry-like rough surface synthesized via the oil-in-water emulsion method have shown great potential for drug loading and drug delivery into specific target cells, an advantage over conventional drug formulations. 23 Similarly, some other hollow structures, e.g. , hydroxyapatite microspheres displaying a hollow core and well-organized shell have shown extensive attraction in the field due to their low mass density, high surface area, cell proliferation, and drug loading capabilities including drug release and cell attachment features.…”