Mesoporous silicananoparticles for the design of smart delivery nanodevices

TLDR

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles are gaining attention for their potential in nanomedicine and can be combined with magnetic nanoparticles to create customizable smart nanosystems. The review aims to outline combinations of MSNPs, stimuli‑responsive nanocaps, and magnetic nanoparticles, and to identify challenges for translating these systems from bench to bedside. MSNPs can load large amounts of cargo into mesopores, with pore entrances capped by nanogates that can be removed by internal or external stimuli to trigger cargo release, enabling stimuli‑responsive drug delivery.

Abstract

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNPs) are receiving growing attention by the scientific community for their groundbreaking potential in nanomedicine. It is possible to load huge amounts of cargo into the mesopore voids and capping the pore entrances with different nanogates. Different internal or external stimuli can provoke the nanocap removal and trigger the departure of the cargo, which permits the design of stimuli-responsive drug delivery nanodevices. It is also feasible to combine the multifunctionality of MSNPs with the wide range of applications of magnetic nanoparticles (mNPs), giving rise to advanced smart nanosystems whose features and functionality can be tailored attending to specific clinical needs. This review describes the possible combinations of MSNPs, stimuli-responsive nanocaps and mNPs and the current scientific challenges aimed at accelerating the progression from bench to bedside.