Since silica nanoparticles have low toxicity and are easily modified with other active ligands, they are widely studied in the fields of drug delivery and imaging. In vivo studies show that the solid silica nanoparticles accumulate in many organs due to the lack of degradability, which potentially threatens health. Our work will address this shortcoming by producing degradable silica nanoparticles via the incorporation of organic groups. A bridged silsesquioxane is used as the precursor of the particles and upon cleavage of the carbamate groups in the acid condition, the spherical structure collapses and releases non-toxic sugar.  The fundamental study of the structure and properties of the bridge silsesquioxane nanoparticles also helps us to learn more about the mechanism of the formation of hybrid silica nanoparticles.

Preparation of degradable silsesquioxane nanoparticles

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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