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In this study, thermally hydrocarbonised porous silicon nanoparticles (THCpSiNPs) capped with polyethylenimine (PEI) were fabricated, and their potential for small interfering RNA (siRNA) delivery was investigated in an in vitroglioblastoma model. PEI coating following siRNA loading enhanced the sustained release of siRNA, and suppressed burst release effects. The positively-charged surface improved the internalisation of the nanoparticles across the cell membrane. THCpSiNP-mediated siRNA delivery reduced mRNA expression of the MRP1 gene, linked to the resistence of glioblastoma to chemotherapy, by 63% and reduced MRP1-protein levels by 70%. MRP1 siRNA loaded nanoparticles did not induce cytotoxicity in glioblastoma cells, but markedly reduced cell proliferation. In summary, the results demonstrated that non-cytotoxic cationic THCpSiNPs are promising vehicles for therapeutic siRNA delivery.

Preparation of graded‐index optical microcavities based on porous silicon is demonstrated, and chemical modifications for obtaining improved stability under alkaline conditions are studied. Four surface modification methods for stabilizing the samples are examined, and the effects on the optical properties are verified. Two different thermal carbonization treatments resulting in hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces are employed. In addition, modification with undecylenic acid is performed on as‐prepared and thermally hydrocarbonized porous silicon surfaces. Stability and sensing capabilities of the modified samples are examined by subjecting them to different concentrations of methylamine and trimethylamine vapors. Vapor induced changes in the reflectance spectra are used for evaluating sensitivity and stability. Sensitivity towards ethanol vapor is also measured in order to compare the sensitivity to a normal organic solvent. The results show that the two carbonization treatments and the undecylenic acid functionalization of the hydrocarbonized surface result in greatly improved stability. In contrast, derivatization of as‐prepared porous silicon with undecylenic acid does not protect the surface sufficiently against oxidation under the highly basic conditions produced by the amine vapors. Surface chemistry is also shown to have a large effect on sensitivity towards the examined vapors. X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to assess changes in elemental composition of sample surface. The results suggest that thermally promoted addition of undecylenic acid on hydrocarbonized porous silicon is an effective method for producing highly stable optical structures with a carboxyl group functionalization.

In the present work, a possibility to use thermal annealing of porous silicon to enlarge the pore sizes has been studied. The size of the pores can be increased by controlling the annealing temperature and time. The pore enlargements from 10 nm even up to 100 nm can be obtained without destroying the pore structure. In all studied cases, annealing was found to decrease the surface areas and pore volumes of porous silicon, but the effects of annealing as a function of temperature were found to be strongly dependent on the initial porosity of samples. The crystallinity of the annealed samples was studied with XRD and the obtained results were used to explain differences observed in the pore sizes after the HF treatment of annealed samples. © 2009 WILEYVCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim