Synthesis of a Multifunctional Nanocomposite with Magnetic, Mesoporous, and Near-IR Absorption Properties

In this work, we report a multifunctional inorganic nanocomposite which is composed of mesoporous silica coated ferrite core and numerous gold nanoparticles (NPs) support on the surface of mesoporous silica. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray, X-ray photoelectron spectra, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, UV-vis spectroscopy, N-2 adsorption/desorption, superconducting quantum interference device were used to characterize the samples. The results indicated that the nanocomposites show typical ordered mesoporous characteristics (2.4 nm) and high magnetization (46.3 emu/g), thus it is possible for drug targeting under a foreign magnetic field. In addition, the Au NPs' shell, coated mesoporous silica containing ferrite cores, exhibits near-infrared absorption (suitable for photothermal therapy). A drug release test indicates that the multifunctional system shows drug-sustained properties with ibuprofen as the model drug. This multifunctional system has potential for targeting drug delivery and photothermal therapy based on all the properties they possess.