Article Title

Hollow mesoporous Ia3d silica nanospheres with singleunit-cell-thick shell: Spontaneous formation and drug delivery application

Authors

Nienchu Lai, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan, China
Chihyu Lin, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan, China
Peihsin Ku, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan, China
Lilin Chang, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan, China
Kaiwei Liao, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan, China
Wunting Lin, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan, China
Chiamin Yang, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan, China Frontier Research Center on Fundamental and Applied Sciences of Matters, Tsinghua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan, China

Keywords

hollow mesoporous silica nanospheres, cubic Ia3d mesostructure, drug delivery, silica degradation

Abstract

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) are promising for drug delivery and other biomedical applications owing to their excellent chemical stability and biocompatibility. For these applications, a hollow morphology with thin shell and open mesopores is preferred for MSNs in order to maximize the loading capacity of drugs. Herein we report a novel and direct synthesis of such an ideal drug delivery system in a dilute and alkaline solution of benzylcetyl- dimethylammonium chloride and diethylene glycol hexadecyl ether. The mixed surfactants can guide the formation of MSNs with cubic Ia3d mesostructure, and at a concentration of sodium hydroxide between 9.8 and 13.5 mM, hollow MSNs with uniform sizes of 90–120 nm and a single-unit-cell-thick shell are formed. A mechanism for the formation of the hollow Ia3d MSNs, designated as MMT-2, is proposed based on in situ small-angle X-ray scattering measurements and other analyses. MMT-2 exhibits much higher loading capacity of ibuprofen and degrades faster in simulated body fluid and phosphate buffered saline than non-hollow MSNs. The degradation of MMT-2 can be significantly retarded by modification with polyethylene glycol. More interestingly, the degradation of MMT-2 involves fragmentation instead of void formation, a phenomenon beneficial for their elimination. The results demonstrate the uniqueness of the hollow Ia3d MSNs and the great potential of the material for drug delivery and biomedical applications.

Graphical Abstract

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-014-0503-2

Publisher

Tsinghua University Press

Recommended Citation

Nienchu Lai,Chihyu Lin,Peihsin Ku,Lilin Chang,Kaiwei Liao,Wunting Lin,Chiamin Yang, Hollow mesoporous Ia3d silica nanospheres with singleunit-cell-thick shell: Spontaneous formation and drug delivery application. NanoRes.2014, 7(10): 1439–1448