BIOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS OF MESOPOROUS SILICA NANOPARTICLES

RESEARCH DESCRIPTION

Various areas of the Zink lab projects are currently being investigated for their use in biological samples and living systems.

Nanoimpeller-controlled mesostructured silica nanoparticles can be used to deliver and release anti-cancer drugs into living cells under photocontrol, depending on light intensity, irradiation time, and wavelength of the light used to activate the nanoimpeller.

The Zink lab is also interested in using biological molecules as targeting agents for the silica nanoparticles. If a cell line over-expresses specific receptors, then the biomolecules that interact with these receptors can be attached to the particle as targeting agents. This offers refined selectivity for targeting, as the targeting molecule can be adapted to match the receptors on cancer cells, limiting the potential for uptake in healthy cells.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

•Targeted intracellular delivery of antituberculosis drugs to Mycobacterium tuberculosis-infected macrophages via functionalized mesoporous silica nanoparticles. Daniel L. Clemens, Bai-Yu Lee, Min Xue, Courtney R. Thomas, Huan Meng, Daniel Ferris, Andre E. Nel, Jeffrey I. Zink, Marcus A. Horwitz Antimicrob. Agents Chemother., 2012, 56, pp 2535-2545.

•Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles in Biomedical Applications. Zongxi Li, Jonathan C. Barnes, Aleksandr Bosoy, J. Fraser Stoddart, and Jeffrey I. Zink.  Chem. Soc. Rev. 2012, 41, 2590-2605.

•Mechanized Silica Nanoparticles: A New Frontier in Theranostic Nanomedicine. Michael W. Ambrogio, Courtney R. Thomas, Yan-Li Zhao, Jeffrey I. Zink, and J. Fraser Stoddart Acc. Chem. Res., 2011, 44 (10), pp 903–913.