Development and characterization of functionalized silica nanoparticles containing doxorubicin: a study of the influence of functionalization on the cellular aspects of cancer

The adverse effects caused by drugs used in cancer treatment are a challenge for science. The decrease of these symptoms can be achieved with the controlled and directed release of drugs in the body, using new materials for drug delivery. Silica nanoparticles show attractive properties to be implemented as multifunctional nanocarriers for drug delivery purposes due to its unique characteristics, including large surface area, large pore size, biocompatibility and easy surface-tailorable. In the present work, we describe the effect of organic moieties on the surface of silica nanoparticles, produced by one pot Stöber sol-gel process. The systems were characterized by different techniques such as SAXS, BET, DLS, TEM and zeta potential. The results demonstrated that the surface functionalization with the organosilanes O12 and O13 improved the biocompatibility of nanospheres in MRC5- cells. The controlled delivery of doxorubicin was enhanced by surface functionalization in silica nanoparticles applied in MCF-7 cells.