Synthesis of SBA-15 rods with small sizes for enhanced cellular uptake

Small sized SBA-15 rods with 80-200 nm in length, 18 +/- 8 nm in width and a pore size of 8.3 nm have been successfully synthesized by finely tuning the synthesis pH in a narrow range of 3.40-3.88. Compared to traditional SBA-15 with relatively larger particle sizes and MCM-41 with smaller pore sizes, SBA-15 rods prepared in this study demonstrate higher adsorption capacity towards large protein molecules such as bovine serum albumin and lysozyme, and enhanced cellular uptake efficiency in human osteosarcoma cancer cells. This novel silica material with small particle sizes, large pores as well as excellent biocompatibility is a promising delivery system for the cellular delivery of large molecular weight therapeutic agents with improved efficacy.