Practical Manipulation for the Preparation of Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery Vehicles

Optimization of MSNs is the most important process for efficient and safe drug delivery systems.

In this study, the physicochemical properties of MSNs were evaluated using various compositions of individual reagents.

MSNs were synthesized according to a modified Stöber method. The physicochemical properties of MSNs were evaluated. Spherical uniform particles were observed in the scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image and the meso-structure of MSNs was confirmed. The amorphous and specific hexagonal structure of MSNs was confirmed through Xray diffraction (XRD) and SAXRD.

The particle size and surface area according to changes in amounts of reagents ranged from 34.5 ± 2.3 to 216.0 ± 17.1 nm and from 549.79 to 1154.26 m²/g, respectively. A linear relationship was found between the surface area of MSNs and the adsorption rate of methylene blue (MB). MSNs exhibited no apparent cytotoxic effect on Caco-2 cell up to 200 μg/mL. The amounts of tetramethyl ammonium silicate and tetraethyl ortho silicate (TEOS), NaOH, and hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) were adjusted to control the particle size and surface area of MSNs, and it was found that the amounts of synthetic reagents affected the physicochemical properties such as particle size and surface area of MSNs. MSNs with a large surface area adsorbed a large amount of MB.

These results indicated that drug adsorption is related to the surface area of MSNs. MSNs did not show cytotoxicity to Caco-2 cells. MSNs may be a promising nanomaterial that could be applied as a carrier for various drugs.