Mesoporous silica/organosilica nanoparticles: Synthesis, biological effect and biomedical application

The interdisciplinary integration among material science, nanotechnology and biology has been promoting the emergences of a large number of feasible nanoplatforms for diverse biomedical applications. Thanks to the unique mesoporous structure, large specific surface area, abundant surface chemistry and tunable framework composition, mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) and mesoporous organosilica nanoparticles (MONs) have been extensively applied for diverse therapeutic, or diagnostic applications. The past two decades have witnessed the blooming growth of researches on the elaborate design and fabrication of multifunctional MSNs/MONs-based nanosystems, which have greatly pushed forward the development of next-generation theranostic biomaterials. These mesoporous silica-based nanomaterials feature varied structural, compositional and morphological characteristics, leading to the great diversity in their downstream physicochemical properties and theranostic performances, which further catalyzes the emergence of advanced therapeutic strategies for optimized treatment efficacies and mitigated side effects. In this review, we will comprehensively elucidate very recent advances on the construction of MSNs/MONs-based theranostic nanoplatforms for various therapeutic and diagnostic applications, and discuss the underlying material chemistry of these exquisite nanosystems that confers varied theranostic functionalities. Especially, the interdependent relationship among the synthesis, biological effects and biomedical applications of MSNs and MONs will be discussed in depth, and their further clinical-translation potential/challenge will be clarified and outlooked. It is highly expected that we will witness a second leap-forward development of the biomedical applications of MSNs and MONs in the next one or two decades, especially for the further clinical translation.