Protein loaded mesoporous silica spheres as a controlled delivery platform

Background The adsorption of bovine serum albumin (BSA) onto mesoporous silica spheres (MPS) synthesized from silica colloids was studied employing real time in situ measurements. The stabilities of the BSA at different pH values, their isoelectric points and zeta potentials were determined in order to probe the interactions between the protein and the mesoporous silica. Results The pore size of MPS was designed for protein, and this, coupled with an in depth understanding of the physico-chemical characteristics of the protein and MPS has yielded a better binding capacity and delivery profile. The adsorption isotherm at pH 4.2 fitted the Langmuir model and displayed the highest adsorption capacity (71.43 mg mL-1 MPS). Furthermore, the delivery rates of BSA from the MPS under physiological conditions were shown to be dependent on the ionic strength of the buffer and protein loading concentration. Conclusion Economics and scale-up considerations of mesoporous material synthesized via destabilization of colloids by electrolyte indicate the scaleability and commercial viability of this technology as a delivery platform for biopharmaceutical applications.

Mesoporous silica spheres from colloids

A novel method has been developed to synthesize mesoporous silica spheres using commercial silica colloids (SNOWTEX) as precursors and electrolytes (ammonium nitrate and sodium chloride) as destabilizers. Crosslinked polyacrylamide hydrogel was used as a temporary barrier to obtain dispersible spherical mesoporous silica particles. The influences of synthesis conditions including solution composition and calcination temperature on the formation of the mesoporous silica particles were systematically investigated. The structure and morphology of the mesoporous silica particles were characterized via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and N2 sorption technique. Mesoporous silica particles with particle diameters ranging from 0.5 to 1.6 μm were produced whilst the BET surface area was in the range of 31-123 m2 g-1. Their pore size could be adjusted from 14.1 to 28.8 nm by increasing the starting particle diameter from 20-30 nm up to 70-100 nm. A simple and cost effective method is reported that should open up new opportunities for the synthesis of scalable host materials with controllable structures.

Magnetic Mesoporous Silica Spheres for Drug Targeting and Controlled Release

Magnetically functionalized mesoporous silica spheres with different size (average diameter, A.D.) from 150 nm to 2 mu m and pore size distribution were synthesized by generating magnetic FexOy nanoparticles onto the mesoporous silica hosts using the sol-gel method. The X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), N-2 adsorption/desorption results show that these composites conserved regular sphere morphology and ordered mesoporous structure after the formation of FexOy nanoparticles. XRD and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis confirmed that the FexOy generated in these mesoporous silica hosts is mainly composed of gamma-Fe2O3. Magnetic measurements reveal that these composites with different gamma-Fe2O3 loading amounts possess super-paramagnetic properties at 300 K, and the saturation magnetization increases with increasing Fe ratio loaded.

Sol-Gel Preparation of Zn2 Si04：Mn Phosphor Layers on Silica Spheres and Their Luminescent Properties

The synthesis and luminescence properties of Zn2SiO4:Mn phosphor layers on spherical silica spheres,i.e.,a kind of core-shell complex phosphor,Zn2SiO4:Mn@SiO2 were described.Firstly,monodisperse silica spheres were obtained via the Stober method by the hydrolysis of tetraethoxysilane(TEOS)Si(OC2H5)4 under base condition (using NH4OH as the catalyst).Secondly,the silica spheres were coated with a Zn2SiO4:Mn phosphor layer by a Pechini sol-gel process.X-ray diffraction(XRD),scanning electron microscope(SEM),energy-dispersive X-ray spectrum(EDS) and photoluminescence(PL) were employed to characterize the resulting complex phosphor.The results comfirm that 1000℃ annealed sample consists of crystalline Zn2SiO4:Mn shells and amorphous SiO2 cores.The phosphor show the green emission of Mn2+ at 521nm corresponding 4T1(4G)-6A1(6S) transition,and the possible luminescence mechanism is proposed.

Synthesis of biodegradable polymer-mesoporous silica composite microspheres for DNA prime-protein boost vaccination

DNA vaccines or proteins are capable of inducing specific immunity; however, the translation to the clinic has generally been problematic, primarily due to the reduced magnitude of immune response and poor pharmacokinetics. Herein we demonstrate a composite microsphere formulation, composed of mesoporous silica spheres (MPS) and poly(d,l-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA), enables the controlled delivery of a prime-boost vaccine via the encapsulation of plasmid DNA (pDNA) and protein in different compartments. Method with modified dual-concentric-feeding needles attached to a 40 kHz ultrasonic atomizer was studied. These needles focus the flow of two different solutions, which passed through the ultrasonic atomizer. The process synthesis parameters, which are important to the scale-up of composite microspheres, were also studied. These parameters include polymer concentration, feed flowrate, and volumetric ratio of polymer and pDNA-PEI/MPS-BSA. This fabrication technique produced composite microspheres with mean D[4,3] ranging from 6 to 34 μm, depending upon the microsphere preparation. The resultant physical morphology of composite microspheres was largely influenced by the volumetric ratio of pDNA-PEI/MPS-BSA to polymer, and this was due to the precipitation of MPS at the surface of the microspheres. The encapsulation efficiencies were predominantly in the range of 93-98% for pDNA and 46-68% for MPS. In the in vitro studies, the pDNA and protein showed different release kinetics in a 40 day time frame. The dual-concentric-feeding in ultrasonic atomization was shown to have excellent reproducibility. It was concluded that this fabrication technique is an effective method to prepare formulations containing a heterologous prime-boost vaccine in a single delivery system.

Multiple energy transfers in rare earth complex-doped SiO2 spheres

Silica spheres doped with Eu(TTFA)(3) and/or Sm(TTFA)(3) were synthesized by using the modified Stober method. The transmission electron microscope image reveals that the hybrid spheres have smooth surfaces and an average diameter of about 210 nm. Fluorescence spectrometer was used to analyze the fluorescence properties of hybrid spheres. The results show that multiple energy transfer processes are simultaneously achieved in the same samples co-doped with Eu (TTFA)(3) and Sm(TTFA)(3), namely between the ligand and Eu3+ ion, the ligand and Sm3+ ion, and Sm3+ ion and Eu3+, ion. Energy transfer of Sm3+-> Eu3+, in the hybrid spheres leads to fluorescence enhancement of Eu3+ emission by approximately an order of magnitude. The lifetimes of the hybrid spheres were also measured.

Raspberry-like Hierarchical Au/Pt Nanoparticle Assembling Hollow Spheres with Nanochannels: An Advanced Nanoelectrocatalyst for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction

In this contribution, we for the first time report the synthesis of raspberry-like hierarchical Au/Pt nanoparticle (NP) assembling hollow spheres (RHAHS) with pore structure and complex morphology through one in situ sacrificial template approach without any post-treatment procedure. This method has some clear advantages including simplicity, quickness, high quality, good reproducibility, and no need of a complex post-treatment process (removing templating). Furthermore, the present method could be extended to other metal-based NP assembling hollow spheres. Most importantly, the as-prepared RHAHS exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). For instance, the present RHAHS-modified electrode exhibited more positive potential (the half-wave potential at about 0.6 V), higher specific activity, and higher mass activity for ORR than that of commercial platinum black (CPB). Rotating ring-disk electrode (RRDE) voltarnmetry demonstrated that the RHAHS-modified electrode could almost catalyze a four-electron reduction of O-2 to H2O in a 0.5 M air-saturated H2SO4 solution.

Deposition of GdVO4 : Eu3+ nanoparticles on silica nanospheres by a simple sol-gel method

The deposition and coating of GdVO4: Eu3+ nanoparticles on spherical silica was carried out using a simple sol - gel method at low temperature. The GdVO4: Eu3+-coated silica composites obtained were characterized by differential thermal analysis (DTA), thermogravimetric (TG) analysis, x-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform IR spectroscopy (FT-IR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), photoluminescence spectra, and kinetic decay. It is found that the similar to 5 nm GdVO4: Eu3+ nanoparticles coating the silica spheres are crystal in the as-prepared samples and the crystallinity increases with increasing annealing temperature. The composites obtained are spherical in shape with an average size of 100 nm. The GdVO4: Eu3+ nanoparticles are linked with silica cores by a chemical bond. The photoluminescence spectra of the obtained GdVO4: Eu3+-coated silica composites are similar to those of the bulk GdVO4: Eu3+ phosphors. The strongest peak is near 617 nm, which indicates that Eu3+ is located in the low symmetry site with non-inversion centre.

Catalytic properties of silica/silver nanocomposites

The catalytic properties of silver nanoparticles supported on silica and the relation between catalytic activity of silver particles and the support (silica) size are investigated in the present article. The silver nanoparticles with 4 nm diameters were synthesized and were attached to silica spheres with sizes of 40, 78, 105 nm, respectively. The reduction of Rhodamine 6G (R6G) by NaBH4 was designed by using the SiO2/Ag core-shell nanocomposites as catalysts. The experimental results demonstrated that the catalytic activity of silica/silver nanoparticles depends on not only the concentration of catalysts (silver) but also the support silica size. Silver particles supported on small SiO2 spheres (similar to 40 nm) show high catalytic activity. Moreover, by making a comparison between the UV-vis spectra of the catalyst before and after the catalytic reaction, we found that the position of surface plasma resonance (SPR) peak of Ag nanoparticles changes little. The above results suggested that the size and morphology of silver particles were probably kept unchanged after the reduction of R6G and also implied that the catalytic activity of silver particles was hardly lost during the catalytic reaction.

Sol-gel growth of Gd2MoO6 : Eu3+ nanocrystalline layers on SiO2 spheres (SiO2@Gd2MoO6 : Eu3+) and their luminescent properties

SiO2@Gd2MoO6:EU3+ core-shell phosphors were prepared by the sol-gel process. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectra (EDS), transmission electron microscopy ITEM), photoluminescence (PL) spectra as well as kinetic decays were used to characterize the resulting SiO2@Gd2MoO6:Eu3+ core-shell phosphors. The XRD results demonstrate that the Gd2MoO6:Eu3+ layers on the SiO2 spheres begin to crystallize after annealing at 600 degrees C and the crystallinity increases with raising the annealing temperature. The obtained core-shell phosphors have a near perfect spherical shape with narrow size distribution (average size ca. 600 nm), are not agglomerated, and have a smooth surface. The thickness of the Gd2MoO6:Eu3+ shells on the SiO2 cores could be easily tailored by varying the number of deposition cycles (50 nm for four deposition cycles). The Eu3+ shows a strong PL luminescence (dominated by D-5(0)-F-7(2) red emission at 613 nm) under the excitation of 307 nm UV light.

Electrochemical study of o-toluidine blue impregnated in mesoporous silica channels

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Bacterial cellulose-silica organic-inorganic hybrids

Bacterial cellulose (BC) hydrated membranes present nanometric reticulated structure that can be used as a template in the preparation of new organic-inorganic hybrids. BC-silica hybrids were prepared from BC membranes and tetraethoxysilane, (TEOS) at neutral pH conditions at room temperature. Macroscopically homogeneous membranes were obtained containing up to 66 wt.% of silica spheres, 20-30 nm diameter. Scanning electron micrographs clearly show the silica spheres attached to cellulose microfibrils. By removing the cellulose, the silica spheres can be easily recovered. The new hybrids are stable up to 300 degrees C and display a broad emission band under UV excitation assigned to oxygen-related defects at the silica particles surface. Emission color can be tuned by changing the excitation wavelength.

Rhodamine B-containing silica films from TEOS precursor: Substrate surface effects detected by photoluminescence

This work presents the study of substrate surface effects on rhodamine B-containing silica films obtained from TEOS (tetraethylorthosilicate) acid hydrolysis. Soda-lime glass substrates were treated with basic solution under different reaction times and temperatures. Rhodamine B-containing silica films were deposited on pre-treated substrates by the spin-coating method. The substrate surface directly affects film morphology and homogeneity. The films are formed by packed silica spheres which protect the dye against acid-base attack. Luminescence spectra present shifts on the dye emission maximum as expected for different pH values on the substrate surface depending on the alkaline treatment. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Dually fluorescent silica nanoparticles

The cationic dyes 9-aminoacridine (9AA) and safranine (Sf) were entrapped into silica spheres of about 0.2 mu m diameter prepared by modified Stober method. The fluorescent materials are investigated by steady-state and time-resolved emission, in addition of confocal fluorescence microscopy. Silica particles containing 9-aminoacridine (SP9AA) and safranine (SPSf or both dyes (SPSf9AA) are emissive particles. When both dyes are present in the same particle but loaded in sequential stages 9AA emission is quenched as a consequence of energy transfer from 9AA (donor) to Sf (acceptor). This result suggests that particle growing processes where the acceptor is incorporated first into the core do not prevent donor/acceptor pairs to be close due to an overlay of the concentration gradients of both dyes in a radial core-shell like distribution. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Role Of Convection Flow On The Pattern Formation In The Drying Process Of Colloidal Suspension

We study the macroscopic drying patterns of aqueous suspensions of colloidal silica spheres. It was found that convection strength can influence pattern formation. Uniformed films are obtained at weaker convection strength. In addition, we make clear that it is not reasonable to discuss individually the effect of temperature and humidity on the colloid self-assembly. The physical mechanism is that these factors have relationship with the evaporation rate, which can affect the convection strength.