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Biopolymer coated mesoporous silica nanoparticles for controlled therapeutic delivery: battle for bioavailability

Harget, Michael C.
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2024-04-22
Abstract
Traditional drug delivery methods are unable to alleviate challenges associated with the administration of medicine, which include non-target site exposure, adverse effects, environmental impact, and unnecessary cost.1-3 In addition to continual drug development, it is equally or more important to consider new methods to use traditional drugs with higher efficiency.4 Mesoporous silica nanoparticles provide an alluring avenue towards a stimulus specific biomolecule and drug delivery system due to their high surface area (over 1,000 m2/g), biocompatibility, and chemical tailorability.5-7 The well-defined pores of MSN materials can host and actively release drug molecules in a controlled manner, reducing non-target site exposure and adverse effects while improving patient compliance and overall treatment effectiveness.8-10 To achieve this, various materials have been explored as endcaps to trap payloads within the pores of MSN until reaching a specific stimulus that releases the therapeutic.11-12 The biological compatibility and relevance of the biopolymer amylose makes it a suburb candidate for pore coverage.3,13 Amylose nanoparticles have been pursued in literature for topical drug delivery and wound dressing.14-16 Few methodologies, however, report the formation of biopolymer coatings around porous nanoparticles for internal targeted drug delivery. The physiologically abundant enzyme amylase would degrade the amylose coat and initiate drug delivery appropriate for cases of dysphagia and pancreatitis. Herein we report initial findings and characterizations of an MCM-41 drug delivery system capable of uptake and sustained release of fluorescein, mediated by concentration gradient and pH dependent electrostatics. Amylose displayed unsuitable surface interactions with bare MCM-41, yielding insufficient pore coverage. Covalent surface functionalization with trimethylsilanes improved nonpolar interactions, yet noncovalent amylose coating and enzyme promoted fluorescein release proved elusive. General outcomes and suitable next steps are presented.
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