There are challenges
related to cancer treatment, namely, targeting
and biocompatibility associated with a drug vehicle. This research
aims to prepare a theranostic cancer vehicle based on porous silica
nanoparticles (PSN) with controllable nanoparticle size, supporting
targeting properties, and biocompatible. The synthesis method combined
the Stöber process and liquid crystal templating using a dispersant
and pore expander. Triethanolamine (TEA) and Pluronic F-127 were combined
as a steric stabilizer and dispersing agent, while
n
-hexane was used as a pore expander. The amine functionalization
was carried out using the 3-aminopropyl-triethoxysilane solution.
Furthermore, radiolabeling of PSN using Iodine-131 and iodogen as
oxidizing agents was carried out. The results showed that the best
achievable PSN size was 100–150 nm with a polydispersity index
of 0.24 using TEA-Pluronic F-127. The functionalization results did
not significantly affect the radioiodination result. Radiochemical
purity (RCP) values up to 95% were obtained in the radioiodination,
while the labeled compounds were relatively stable with 12 mCi radioactivity,
indicating the absence of radiolysis. The synthesized PSN was not
toxic to normal cell samples up to a concentration of 150 μg/mL
for PSN and 170 μg/mL for PSN-NH
2
. The cellular uptake
testing results of the PSN-
131
I in cancer cell samples
showed promising uptake ability.