Overview  |  Gene delivery controlled by redox potential gradients  |  Layer-by-layer DNA films for gene delivery | Stimulus-controlled drug delivery from nanoporous inorganic nanoparticles

Mesoporous silica-based materials show a number of attractive features for biomedical applications, such as stable mesoporous structures, large surface areas, tunable pore sizes and volumes, good biocompatibility, and well-defined surface properties available for further functionalization. Because the pores exhibit a relatively narrow size distribution in the range of 2–10 nm, mesoporous silica can selectively host molecules of various sizes, shapes, and functionalities. In principle, the molecules can be released at a later stage, providing an exciting platform for imaging and drug delivery. Recently, a significant effort has been devoted to the development of "smart" mesoporous silica nanoparticles, in which uptake and delivery of drugs or genes in the pore voids can be controlled at will by selectively opening the pores in response to a variety of stimuli. Our goal is to develop porous silica nanoparticles with fully reversible control of drug release and enhanced drug loading capacity that will be suitable for combined target-specific drug delivery and imaging. We are especially interested in designing systems with fully reversible, pH-controlled opening/closing of pores.

Collaborators

Prof. Stephanie Brock

Representative Publications

Y. You, K. Kalebaila, S. L. Brock, D. Oupicky. "Temperature-Controlled Uptake and Release in PNIPAM-modified Porous Silica Nanoparticles." Chemistry of Materials, 2008, 20, 3354-3359. (Abstract)