Synthesis of functionalized mesoporous silica hybrid nanoparticles for controlled drug delivery under pH-stimuli

Abstract This work describes the synthesis of periodic mesoporous organosilica (PMO@Py NPs) nanocarriers that integrate the hydroxyl-pyridyl (HP) ligand and could be used as an efficient drug delivery system in the presence of varying pH stimuli. PMO@Py NPs were produced by adapting the sol-gel co-condensation process. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), N 2 adsorption-desorption analysis, particle size analysis, and zeta potential measurements were used to characterize the produced PMO@Py NPs. The developed silica nanocarriers’ surface morphology was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) study. The content of integrated organic functional groups in the PMO@Py NPs was determined using elemental analysis and thermogravimetric (TG) analysis. To ascertain the loading and pH-responsive release efficiency of the PMO@Py NPs under various pH (pH 7.4, 6.2, and 4.5) circumstances, respectively, the hydrophilic anticancer agent 5-Fu was utilized as a model drug. Furthermore, in MDA-MB-231 cells, the biocompatibility of the PMO@Py NPs was assessed. Additionally, utilizing samples of red blood cells, produced PMO@Py NPs’ hemocompatibility was assessed and compared with that of the positive control, Triton-X. Overall, the results showed that the HP-PMO@Py NPs that have been generated are biocompatible, have a high drug loading capacity (about 85 %), and release the drugs that were loaded under different pH stimulation conditions.