Engineering of Mesoporous Silica Coated Carbon‐Based Materials Optimized for an Ultrahigh Doxorubicin Payload and a Drug Release Activated by pH, T, and NIR‐light

Abstract

Among the nanomedecine challenges, engineering nanomaterials able to combine imaging and multi-therapies is hugely needed to address issues of a personalized treatment. In that context, a novel class of drug releasing and remotely activated nanocomposites based on carbon-based materials coated with mesoporous silica and loaded with an outstanding level of the anti-tumoral drug doxorubicin (DOX) has been designed. Such nanocomposites are shown able thus to combine drug delivery, phototherapy and imaging, thanks to the carbon based materials. First, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene sheets (called "few layer graphene" FLGs) are processed to afford a distribution size that is more suitable for nanomedicine applications. Then, the controlled coating of mesoporous silica (MS) shell having a thickness tailored with the sol-gel parameters (amount of precursor, sol-gel time) around the sliced CNTs and exfoliated FLGs are reported. Furthermore, the drug loading in such mesoporous nanocomposites is investigated in full and the surface modification with an aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTS) coating leading to a controlled polysiloxane layer provides an ultra-high payload of DOX (up to 3 folds the mass of the composites). Such new

Nanocomposite Polymer Scaffolds Responding under External Stimuli for Drug Delivery and Tissue Engineering Applications

“…However, such strategies often require complex procedures, and somehow lack of surface density. To improve CNTs dispersions handling and increase the potential for versatile chemical modifications, we have recently proposed the coating of such hydrophobic carbon‐based materials with mesoporous silica (MS) . In this work, a surfactant mediated process for MS coating was achieved on individual sliced CNTs and exfoliated graphene layers.…”

Overview of Carbon Nanotubes for Biomedical Applications

“…A pH - release dependency would also permit delivery close to the tumour tissues [ 42 , 43 ]. Wells et al relied on a mesoporous silica coating to load drugs on CNT [ 44 ]. In those examples, DOX was easily released in the acidic environment found in tumorous tissues but stayed bound to CNT at neutral and alkaline pH, limiting toxicity within the healthy body parts [ 42 , 43 , 44 ].…”

“…Wells et al relied on a mesoporous silica coating to load drugs on CNT [ 44 ]. In those examples, DOX was easily released in the acidic environment found in tumorous tissues but stayed bound to CNT at neutral and alkaline pH, limiting toxicity within the healthy body parts [ 42 , 43 , 44 ]. PEG branches also increased the hydrophilicity of SWCNT and protected the DOX bound to the nanotubes, extending its stability and lifetime in blood circulation.…”

Preprogrammed Dynamic Microstructured Polymer Interfaces

“…The examples include membranes with a dual response [21b, 34, 55] and capsules responding to temperature, pH and near-IR. [56] It is critical for biomedical and biotechnology applications to combine stimuli-responsive behavior with antifouling properties [57] . There are multiple examples of multi-response materials that mimic multi-functional complexity of biological systems.…”