Theragnostic potentials of core/shell mesoporous silica nanostructures

Abstract

Theragnostics is considered as an emerging treatment strategy that integrates therapeutics and diagnostics thus allowing delivery of therapeutics and simultaneous monitoring of the progression of treatment. Among the different types of inorganic nanomaterials that are being used for nanomedicine, core shell mesoporous silica nanoparticles have emerged as promising multifunctional nanoplatform for theragnostic application. Research in the design of core/shell mesoporous silica nanoparticles is steadily diversifying owing to the various interesting properties of these nanomaterials that are advantageous for advanced biomedical applications. Core/shell mesoporous silica nanoparticles, have garnered substantial attention in recent years because of their exceptional properties including large surface area, low density, ease of functionalization, high loading capacity of drugs, control of the morphology, particle size, tunable hollow interior space and mesoporous shell and possibility of incorporating multifunctional interior core material. In the past decade researcher's demonstrated tremendous development in design of functionalized core/shell mesoporous silica nanoparticles with different inorganic functional nanomaterial incorporated into mesoporous nanosystem for simultaneous therapeutic and diagnostic (theragnostic) applications in cancer. In this review, we recapitulate the progress in commonly used synthetic strategies and theragnostic applications of core/shell mesoporous silica nanoparticles with special emphasis on therapeutic and diagnostic modalities. Finally, we discuss the challenges and some perspectives on the future research and development of theragnostic core/shell mesoporous silica nanoparticles.

Recent development of a magneto-optical nanoplatform for multimodality imaging of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

“…91,92 Mesoporous silica is a recent development in nanotechnology, and as a mesoporous form of silica, it exhibits greater loading capacity, is easy to prepare and shows controllable particle and pore size. 93,94 Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN NPs) can be modified to attach imaging probes and targeting ligands, making it a great vehicle for imaging agent synthesis. Li et al designed a novel biodegradable mesoporous silica nanoparticle under 100 nm in diameter termed bMSN@Cy7.5-FA NP as an imaging agent for the detection and quantification of tumor metastasis, by conjugating cyanine 7.5 NHS ester (Cy7.5) and folic acid (FA), a common target ligand that can selectively bind to folate receptors (FRs) overexpressed on the surface of tumor cells 95 (Fig.…”

Recent Advances in the Use of Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles for the Diagnosis of Bacterial Infections

“…Virtually any inorganic NP can serve as the core, which can subsequently be coated with a mesoporous shell for further loading/grafting of molecular agents. 110 Consequently, multimodal imaging probes can readily be designed via this approach; combining one imaging modality in the core with another molecular entity incorporated in the pores of the shell. The core can also be utilized for other functionalities besides imaging; whereas the molecular imaging agent in the pores will serve for the imaging signal.…”

Comprehensive review on ultrasound-responsive theranostic nanomaterials: mechanisms, structures and medical applications

“…Four general methods are available for MSN preparation, including template-directed methods, sol–gel methods, microwave-assisted methods, and chemical etching techniques [ 542 , 546 ]. Silica NPs can be fabricated with a core–shell formulation for theranostic applications with multifunctional properties, which have been reviewed in [ 573 ].…”