Ultrasmall, well-dispersed, hollow siliceous spheres with enhanced endocytosis properties

The synthesis of ultrasmall, well-dispersed, hollow siliceous spheres (HSSs) by using a block copolymer as the template and tetraethoxysilane as a silica source under acidic conditions is reported. After removing the surfactant core of as-synthesized, spherical, silica-coated block-copolymer micelles, HSSs with a uniform particle size of 24.7 nm, a cavity diameter of 11.7 nm, and a wall thickness of 6.5 nm are obtained. It is shown that by surface functionalization of HSSs with methyl groups during synthesis, HSSs can be further dispersed in solvents such as water or ethanol to form a stable sol. Moreover, the hollow cavities are accessible for further loading of functional components. In addition, it is demonstrated that HSSs possess superior endocytosis properties for HeLa cells compared to those of conventional mesoporous silica nanoparticles. A feasible and designable strategy for synthesizing novel well-dispersed hollow structures with ultrasmall diameters instead of conventional ordered mesostructures is provided. It is expected that HSSs may find broad applications in bionanotechnology, such as drug carriers, cell imaging, and targeted therapy.