Drug delivery: mesoporous silica supraparticles for sustained inner-ear drug delivery (small 21/2014).

Mesoporous silica supraparticles (MS-SPs) self-assembled from mesoporous silica nanoparticles are reported on page 4244 by F. Caruso and co-workers. The MS-SPs are effective carriers for the sustained delivery of brain-derived neurotrophic factor. Animal studies show that the MS-SPs can be implanted into the cochlea and deliver neurotrophins to prevent the progressive loss of the auditory neurons that normally occurs with deafness.