Hydrophilic mesoporous carbon nanoparticles as carriers for sustained release of hydrophobic anti-cancer drugs

The uniform mesoporous carbon nanoparticles (MCNs) with size below 200 nm and good water dispersibility were successfully synthesized via a combined hydrothermal synthesis and hard templating. The prepared MCNs served as effective carriers for camptothecin which efficiently inhibited the growth of MCF-7 cancer cells after its sustained release therein.