Finely Tuned Temperature-Controlled Cargo Release Using Paraffin-Capped Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles

[EN] Trapped: Mesoporous silica nanoparticles were loaded with a fluorescent guest and functionalized with octadecyltrimethoxysilane. The alkyl chains interact with paraffins, which build a hydrophobic layer around the particle (see picture). Upon melting of the paraffin, the guest molecule is released, as demonstrated in cells for the guest doxorubicin. The release temperature can be tuned by choosing an appropriate paraffin. Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.
Financial support from the Spanish Government (projects MAT2009-14564-C04-01 and SAF2010-15512) and the Generalitat Valenciana (projects PROMETEO/2009/016 and PROMETEO/2010/005) is gratefully acknowledged. L.M. thanks the Generalitat Valenciana for a VALi+d postdoctoral contract. We thank UPV electron microscopy and CIPF confocal microscopy services for technical support.