Current methods of cancer treatment, while resulting in tumor cell death, also harm healthy cells causing many negative side effects for patients. Mesoporous silica nanoparticles can be used as drug delivery systems to limit chemotherapeutic drug interactions with healthy cells. Recent research has shown that the cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) surfactant exhibited specific cytotoxic effects toward cancerous cells without affecting normal cells. This CTAB surfactant is also commonly used as a template for the pore formation of mesoporous silicates. Our research work was to specifically functionalize the exterior pore surface of CTAB�containingmesoporous silicate (MCM) nanoparticles with organic groups capable of targeting cancer cells, such as folate groups.  The conjugation of folic acid (FA) groups and fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC), a dye used to follow nanoparticle cell uptake, to this silicate shell was carried out using two methods. The first method conjugated folic acid or FITC to aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) as a silane precursor before being used to functionalize the nanoparticle.  Inthe second method APTES was first added to the forming shell to functionalize it with amine (NH2) groups, followed by the coupling of the folate or the fluorescein isothiocyanate groups to these amines. The presence of functional groups as well as CTAB in our materials was confirmed by Infra-Red spectroscopy.

Folate functionalization of surfactant-templated mesoporous silicates used as anticancer drug delivery systems

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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