Redox/pH-dual responsive functional hollow silica nanoparticles for hyaluronic acid-guided drug delivery

ABS T R A C T Stimuli-responsive nanocarriers have been studied for controlling release kinetics while minimizing the undesired leakage of loaded molecules. Hollow mesoporous silica nanoparticles (HMSNs) have been used as carriers because of their biocompatibility, porosity, high surface area, and ease of chemical modifica-tion. Moreover, introducing targeting moieties onto the HMSNs enables targeted delivery to designated sites. Here, we designed dual-responsive HMSNs capped with various molecular weights of hyaluronic acid (HA) to control the drug loading quantity and enhance the targeting efficiency. The dual-responsive HMSNs were synthesized via sequential surface grafting processes, which include thiol groups, amine groups, and capping agents (denoted as HMSN-SH, HMSN-SS-NH2, and HMSN-SS-HA, respectively). The modified HMSNs were further functionalized with HA to increase the cancer-targeting efficiency for CD44-rich cancer cells. This functionalized HMSN showed 1.2-2.3 times increased drug release efficiency under redox/pH-dual stimuli compared to each stimulus. As a result, the HMSNs were internalized by cancer cells rather than normal cells; consequently, more drugs were delivered to cancer cells. We suggest that the proposed HMSN-SS-HA would be a suitable carrier for enhancing drug delivery efficiency with targeting/stimuli-responsive functionalities. (C)& nbsp;2022 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

In this study, dual-responsive hollow mesoporous silica nanoparticles (HMSNs) capped with hyaluronic acid (HA) were designed as drug carriers, exhibiting enhanced targeting efficiency and drug release efficiency. This research provides a new possibility for further improving drug delivery efficiency.