We recently developed a new class of nanocarriers that synergistically combine features of mesoporous silica nanoparticles and liposomes. Fusion of liposomes to a spherical, high-surface-area, mesoporous silica core followed by modification of the resulting supported lipid bilayer (SLB) with multiple copies of a targeting peptide, an endosomolytic peptide, and PEG results in a nanocarrier construct (the 'protocell') that, compared with liposomes improves on capacity, selectivity, and stability and enables targeted delivery and controlled release of high concentrations of multicomponent cargos (chemotherapeutic drugs, siRNA, etc.) within the cytosol or nucleus of cancer cells. Specifically, owing to its high surface area, the mesoporous silica core possesses a higher capacity for therapeutic and diagnostic agents than similarly sized liposomes. The fluid but stable SLB allows multivalent interactions with the target cell at very low targeting peptide densities, features crucial to maximizing specific binding, minimizing nonspecific binding, reducing dosage, and mitigating immunogenicity.

Protocells: Mesoporous silica supported lipid bilayers for targeted delivery of multicomponent cargos to cancer

244th National Meeting (2012)

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