Letter abstract
Nature Nanotechnology 3, 151 - 157 (2008)
Published online: 2 March 2008 | doi:10.1038/nnano.2008.34
Subject Categories: Nanomedicine | Nanoparticles | Synthesis and processing
Mesoporous silicon particles as a multistage delivery system for imaging and therapeutic applications
Ennio Tasciotti1, Xuewu Liu1, Rohan Bhavane1, Kevin Plant1, Ashley D. Leonard2, B. Katherine Price2, Mark Ming-Cheng Cheng1, Paolo Decuzzi3,4, James M. Tour2, Fredika Robertson5 & Mauro Ferrari1,5,6
Abstract
Many nanosized particulate systems are being developed as intravascular carriers to increase the levels of therapeutic agents delivered to targets, with the fewest side effects1, 2. The surface of these carriers is often functionalized with biological recognition molecules for specific, targeted delivery. However, there are a series of biological barriers in the body3, 4, 5 that prevent these carriers from localizing at their targets at sufficiently high therapeutic concentrations5, 6. Here we show a multistage delivery system that can carry, release over time and deliver two types of nanoparticles into primary endothelial cells. The multistage delivery system is based on biodegradable and biocompatible mesoporous silicon particles that have well-controlled shapes, sizes and pores. The use of this system is envisioned to open new avenues for avoiding biological barriers and delivering more than one therapeutic agent to the target at a time, in a time-controlled fashion.
- Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
- Departments of Chemistry and Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, and The Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
- Center of BioNanotechnology and BioEngineering for Medicine, The University of Magna Graecia, Viale Europa – LOC. Germaneto 88100, Catanzaro, Italy
- School of Health Information Sciences, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
- Department of Experimental Therapeutics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
Correspondence to: Mauro Ferrari1,5,6 e-mail: mauro.ferrari@uth.tmc.edu