Title:Multifunctional Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles for Cancer Therapy and Imaging
Volume: 26
Issue: 31
Author(s): Fahima Dilnawaz*
Affiliation:
- Laboratory of Nanomedicine, Institute of Life Sciences, Nalco Square, Bhubaneswar -751023, Odisha,India
Keywords:
Nanotechnology, mesoporous silica nanoparticles, theranostic, drug delivery, cancer therapy, biodegradability.
Abstract: Background: Cancer is a widespread disease and has a high mortality rate. Popular
conventional treatment encompasses chemotherapy, radiation and surgical resection.
However, these treatments impart lots of toxicity problems to the patients mostly due to their
non-selectiveness nature, which invokes drug resistances and severe side-effects.
Objectives: In this regard, nanotechnology has claimed to be a smart technology that provides
the system with the ability to target drugs to the specific sites. With the use of
nanotechnology, various nanomaterials that are widely used as a drug delivery vehicle are
created for biomedical applications. Amongst variously diversified nanovehicles, mesoporous
silica nanoparticles (MSNs) have attracted enormous attention due to their structural characteristics,
great surface areas, tunable pore diameters, good thermal and chemical stability, excellent
biocompatibility along with ease of surface modification. Furthermore, the drug release
from MSNs can be tailored through various stimuli response gatekeeper systems. The
ordered structure of MSNs is extremely suitable for loading of the high amount of drug molecules
with controlled delivery for targeting the cancer tissues via enhanced permeability and
retention effect or further with surface modification, it can also be actively targeted by various
ligands.
Methods: The review article emphases the common synthetic methods and current advancement
of MSNs usages for stimuli response drug delivery, immunotherapy as well as the
theranostic ability for cancer.
Conclusion: Although MSNs are becoming the promising tool for more efficient and safer
cancer therapy, however, additional translational studies are required to explore its multifunctional
ability in a clinical setting.