Features of aminopropyl modified mesoporous silica nanoparticles. Implications on the active targeting capability

TL;DR

This study synthesizes and characterizes aminopropyl-modified mesoporous silica nanoparticles, revealing how APTES content influences their structure and surface properties, and explores their potential for targeted cancer therapy.

Contribution

It provides detailed insights into how APTES modification affects nanoparticle morphology, pore structure, and biological targeting capabilities, advancing design strategies for targeted drug delivery systems.

Findings

APTES content alters nanoparticle morphology from hexagonal to bean-like.

Increasing APTES reduces pore size and lattice parameter.

Enhanced internalization observed in cancer cells with folate targeting.

Abstract

Aminopropyl modified mesoporous SiO2 nanoparticles, MCM-41 type, have been synthesized by the co-condensation method from tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) and aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES). By means of modifying TEOS/APTES ratio we have carried out an in-depth characterization of the nanoparticles as a function of APTES content. Surface charge and nanoparticles morphology were strongly influenced by the amount of APTES and particles changed from hexagonal to bean-like morphology insofar APTES increased. Besides, the porous structure was also affected, showing a contraction of the lattice parameter and pore size, while increasing the wall thickness. These results bring about new insights about the nanoparticles formation during the co-condensation process. The model proposed herein considers that different interactions stablished between TEOS and APTES with the structure directing agent have consequences on pore size, wall thickness and particle morphology. Finally, APTES is an excellent linker to covalently attach active targeting agents such as folate groups. We have hypothesized that APTES could also play a role in the biological behavior of the nanoparticles. So, the internalization efficiency of the nanoparticles has been tested with cancerous LNCaP and non-cancerous preosteoblast-like MC3T3-E1 cells. The results indicate a cooperative effect between aminopropylsilane presence and folic acid, only for the cancerous LNCaP cell line.