Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
top-ranked materials science research papers indexed in Web of Science,
the mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN)-based biological applications
for controlled release, drug delivery system, as well as 3T3-L1 cells, ranked
ninth on the list. By this it can be inferred that the research on MSN now is
the
hot
research front in biomaterials and biological pharmacy.
In order to obtain small-sized uniform mesoporous silica, several
approaches to synthesize the MSN have been well developed. Lu
et al.
reported a rapid, aerosol-based process for synthesizing solid, well-ordered
spherical particles. Their method relied on evaporation-induced interfacial
self-assembly, and the obtained mesoporous silica spheres had a diameter
of 230 nm [28]. Cai
et al.
were fi rst to introduce a new route to synthesize
MCM-41 silica nanospheres ranging from 60 nm to 140 nm in dilute solu-
tion, the molar concentration of hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide
(CTAB) was only 5.7 mM [29, 30]. Their method was based on controlling
the size of MCM-41 particles by adjusting the length of self-assembled
silicates micelles through changing the concentration of surfactant and
sodium hydroxide. Afterward, V.S.Y Lin adopted the same method to syn-
thesize mesoporous silica MCM-41 spheres with a diameter of 200 nm, and
applied the material for drug delivery system [31-34]. Lin
et al.
reported
a method to synthesize dye-functionalized, well-dispersed nanoparticles
with a diameter around 110 nm by co-condensation [35]. Lin and coworkers
reported a novel method of two-steps reaction, including a prehydrolysis
of TEOS and metal alkoxides or salts in acidic solution (pH < 1.0), and fast
co-condensation of silica, metal oxides and surfactant in alkaline ammonia
solution [36], to prepare alumina-substituted mesoporous silica particles
with a size of about 30 ~ 40 nm. In addition, Suzuki
et al.
described their
preparation of well-ordered mesostructured particles with a diameter of
20 ~ 50 nm via a two-surfactant system [37].
13.3.3
Biomedical Application of Mesoporous Silica
13.3.3.1 Biocompatibility Investigation
Drug delivery systems (DDS) have to deal with the physiological envi-
ronment when performing their functions during oral intake or implanta-
tion. Obviously, the success of mesoporous silica to be a carrier for DDS
hinges upon the ability to construct a biocompatible coated environment
that allows high loading of drug molecules without any premature release
of the cargo before reaching the destination. As outlined below, several
features incorporated into such a material make it possible to serve as an
effi cient DDS. Bioactivity studies on SBA-15, MCM-48 and MCM-41 mate-
rials have also been carried out.
The MSN exhibit good biocompatibility and promise excellent poten-
tial usage in the fi eld of biomedical and biotechnological applications. The
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