Insight on the Dependence of the Drug Delivery Applications of Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles on Their Physical Properties (original) (raw)

Summary Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) are fascinating due to their interesting properties and applications. Purpose The optimization of MSNs for drug delivery applications was achieved by preparing different formulations of MSNs using different concentrations of ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH) (0.7, 1.4, 2.8, 4.2, and 5.6 mg/ml for MSN1, MSN2, MSN3, MSN4, and MSN5, respectively). Methods In the synthesis of MSNs, NH4OH was used as a catalyst while tetraethyl orthosilicate were used as a source of silica. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image revealed a linear increase in the size of the formed MSNs with increase in catalyst concentration. TEM images showed that all investigated nanoparticles were dispersed and spherical (changed to oval on addition of higher concentration of NH4OH). Results The hydrodynamic sizes of prepared MSNs were (64.18 ± 6.8, 90.46 ± 7.1, 118.98 ± 7.01, 152.7 ± 1.7, and 173.9 ± 9.36 nm for MSN1, MSN2, MSN3, MSN4, and MSN5, respectively) assessed usi...