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Updated: Feb 15, 2026

Solid-phase Submonomer Synthesis of Peptoid Polymers and their Self-Assembly into Highly-Ordered Nanosheets
Published on: November 2, 2011
Drug self-assembly for synthesis of highly-loaded antimicrobial drug-silica particles
Cameron A Stewart1, Yoav Finer1,2, Benjamin D Hatton3,4
1Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Abstract:
Antimicrobial drug release from biomaterials for orthopedic repair and dental restorations can prevent biofilm growth and caries formation. Carriers for drug incorporation would benefit from long-term drug storage, controlled release, and structural stability. Mesoporous silica, synthesized through a co-assembly of silica and surfactant template, is an ideal drug encapsulation scaffold that maintains structural integrity upon release. However, conventional loading of drug within meso-silica pores via concentration-gradient diffusion limits the overall payload, concentration uniformity, and drug release control. Herein we demonstrate the co-assembly of an antimicrobial drug (octenidine dihydrochloride, OCT), and silica, to form highly-loaded (35% wt.) OCT-silica nanocomposite spheres of 500 nm diameter. Drug release significantly outlasted conventional OCT-loaded mesoporous silica, closely fit Higuchi models of diffusive release, and was visualized via electron microscopy. Extension of this concept to the broad collection of self-assembling drugs grants biomedical community a powerful tool for synthesizing drug-loaded inorganic nanomaterials from the bottom-up.
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