Abstract
Although there are several studies reporting the promising biological
efficiency of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (loaded with antitumoral
drugs) against cancer cells and tumors, there are no reports on the
influence of the bio-nano interface interactions on the molecular
diffusion process occurring along their pores. In this context, we show
here that the protein coating formed on multifunctionalized colloidal
mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) dispersed in a cell culture
medium decreases the release of camptothecin (CPT, a hydrophobic
antitumoral drug) from the pores of MSNs. This effect is related to the
adsorption of biomolecules on the nanoparticle surface, which partially
blocks the pores. Parallely, the hydrophobic functionalization inside
the pores can offer suitable sites for the adsorption of other molecules
present in the cell culture medium depending on the hydrophobicity,
size, and conformation aspects of these molecules and adsorption sites
of MSNs. Thus, the molecular cargo loaded in the pores (i.e. CPT) can be
replaced by specific molecules present in the dispersion medium. As a
consequence, we show that a non-permeable cellular staining molecule
such as SYTOX green can be incorporated in MSNs through this mechanism
and internalized by cells in an artificial fashion. By extrapolating
this phenomenon for applications. in vivo, one has to consider now the
possible manifestation of unpredicted biological effects from the use of
porous silica nanoparticles and others with similar structure due to
these internalization aspects.
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