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Published on: April 16, 2019
Enzyme-Controlled Nanodevice for Acetylcholine-Triggered Cargo Delivery Based on Janus Au-Mesoporous Silica
Antoni Llopis-Lorente1,2,3, Paula Díez4, Cristina de la Torre1,2,3
1Instituto Interuniversitario de Investigación de Reconocimiento Molecular y Desarrollo Tecnológico (IDM), Universidat Politécnica de Valencia, Universitat de Valencia, Spain.
Abstract:
This work reports a new gated nanodevice for acetylcholine-triggered cargo delivery. We prepared and characterized Janus Au-mesoporous silica nanoparticles functionalized with acetylcholinesterase on the Au face and with supramolecular β-cyclodextrin:benzimidazole inclusion complexes as caps on the mesoporous silica face. The nanodevice is able to selectively deliver the cargo in the presence of acetylcholine via enzyme-mediated acetylcholine hydrolysis, locally lowering the pH and opening the supramolecular gate. Given the key role played by ACh and its relation with Parkinson's disease and other nervous system diseases, we believe that these findings could help design new therapeutic strategies.
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