Folic Acid-Polyethyleneimine Functionalized Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles as a Controlled Release Nanocarrier

In an effort to develop a biocompatible, cancer-targetable, controllable carrier for use in smart delivery systems, including drug delivery, this study designed a novel polymer-mesoporous silica nanoparticle hybrid material functionalized with dicarboxylic acid-modified MCM-41 (DA-MCM-41) and branched polyethylenimine (PEI). First, mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) were coated with a folic acid (FA)-PEI layer; MCM-41 was prepared by a sol-gel process and diacid-functionalized MCM-41 was prepared by post-modification. Subsequently, DA-MCM-41 was coated with FA grafted PEI via an electrostatic interaction. The cellular uptake of DA-MCM-41 and the FA-PEI layered MSNs by MCF-7 cells was evaluated using dansyl labeled methylene blue (MB). The FA-PEI-functionalized MSNs exhibited higher cellular uptake to MCF-7 cells than DA-MCM-41. This novel nanocarrier was internalized into the targeted tumor cells site-specifically by FA-mediated internalization and the pH-responsive release of guest molecules (here, methylene blue) was realized by an electrostatic interaction between FA-PEI and DA-MCM-41. Overall, FA-PEI-functionalized MSNs may have potential applications in the targeted and controlled delivery of guest molecules for cancer therapy.