Rod-shaped hollow mesoporous silica drug delivery system: synthetic design, ibuprofen delivery, and optical imaging.

In this work, we proposed a synthesis strategy for a novel drug delivery system (DDS) composed of rod-shaped hollow mesoporous silica core and luminescent Gd₂O₃:Eu shell. This interesting nanostructure combines the luminescence of Eu³⁺ with the excellent drug carrying capacity of rod-shaped hollow mesoporous silica. The structure and morphology of the DDS were characterized by X-ray difraction, Fourier transform infrared, scanning electron microscopy and Transmission electron microscopy. The prepared DDS possessess rod-shaped core shell structure, in which length of the hollow mesoporous silica nanorods as approximately 400 nm and a width of approximately 150 nm and the Gd₂O₃:Eu shell was approximately 30 nm thick. The as-prepared DDS emitted bright red light, and the in vitro assays with NCI-H460 lung cancer cells domenstrated that the as-obtained DDS could rapidly and massively enter the cell. In addition, the prepared DDS showed a high loading capacity of IBU (19.4%). As the amount of ibuprofen released increases, the photoluminescence intensity of the DDS increases. Thus, it is possible to monitor and track the release process through changes in luminous intensity. In summary, it is expected that the prepared DDS may be applied in drug carrying, luminescent tracking and monitoring, and optical imaging. Furthermore, this work provides a reliable approach for the design and preparation of the functionalized rod-shaped mesoporous silica. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]