Nanostructured porous silicon-mediated drug delivery

Abstract

Nanostructured materials based on silicon are promising platforms for pharmaceutical applications given their ability to degrade and low toxicity. However, a very limited number of clinical applications have been demonstrated so far.

Integration of imaging into clinical practice to assess the delivery and performance of macromolecular and nanotechnology-based oncology therapies

“…Specifically, 29 Si-labeled micro-or nanoparticles have been developed by modifying the surface electron states of silicon to alter the nuclear polarization, resulting in long depolarization times which produce images with high sensitivity and contrast, as demonstrated preclinically [54]. Interest in silicon particles has grown due to their ability to carry a drug payload and their flexible surface properties, which enable functionalization with targeting moieties [55]. Therefore, hyperpolarized MRI imaging offers promise for both quantitative assessment of metabolic processes and visualization of delivery of silicon-based systems.…”

Ultrahigh nanostructured drug payloads from degradable mesoporous silicon aerocrystals

“…Mesoporous materials are receiving increasing attention for drug delivery due to their biocompatibility and controlled morphology (e.g., pore size and surface area) [1][2][3].…”

Porous Si Microparticles Infiltrated with Magnetic Nanospheres

“…[2] In fact, it is biocompatible: [3] it degrades into silicic acids that kidneys are able to secrete, and it is neither toxic for the cells nor activator of the immune system. It could be exploited as bioimaging tracer in-vitro and in-vivo, due to its photoluminescence, [4,5] as carrier for drug loading and release, due to its porosity with large surface to volume ratio, [6,7] or as PTT (photothermal therapy) [8] or PDT (photodynamic therapy) [9] agent. Porous silicon is produced from crystalline silicon by a cheap and simple fabrication process, i.e., electrochemical etching in acid solution, resulting in pSi microparticles with photoluminescence (PL) in the orange-red portion of the visible spectrum [10,11] due to the quantum confinement effect.…”