title: Improved stability and biocompatibility of nanostructured silicon drug carrier for intravenous administration.
abstract: Nanotechnology has attracted considerable interest in the field of biomedicine, where various nanoparticles (NPs) have been introduced as efficient drug carrier systems. Mesoporous silicon (PSi) is one of the most promising materials in this field due to its low toxicity, good biodegradability, high surface area, tunable pore size and controllable surface functionality. However, recognition by the reticuloendothelial system and particle agglomeration hinder the use of PSi for intravenous applications. The present paper describes a dual-PEGylation method, where two PEG molecules with different sizes (0.5 and 2 kDa) were grafted simultaneously in a single process onto thermally oxidized PSi NPs to form a high-density PEG coating with both brush-like and mushroom-like conformation. The material was characterized in detail and the effects of the dual-PEGylation on cell viability, protein adsorption and macrophage uptakes were evaluated. The results show that dual-PEGylation improves the colloidal stability of the NPs in salt solutions, prolongs their half-lives, and minimizes both protein adsorption and macrophage uptake. Therefore, these new dual-PEGylated PSi NPs are potential candidates for intravenous applications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Physics, University of Eastern Finland, FI-70211 Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Simo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Näkki
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, University of Eastern Finland, FI-70211 Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Jussi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rytkönen
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Physics, University of Eastern Finland, FI-70211 Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Tuomo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nissinen
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Physics, University of Eastern Finland, FI-70211 Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Florea
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Physics, University of Eastern Finland, FI-70211 Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Joakim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Riikonen
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry, Åbo Akademi University, FI-20500 Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ek
authors.affiliation: Division of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Hongbo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Division of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Hélder A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, University of Eastern Finland, FI-70211 Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Ale
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Närvänen
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Physics, University of Eastern Finland, FI-70211 Kuopio, Finland. Electronic address: wujun.xu@uef.fi.
authors.forename: Wujun
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Physics, University of Eastern Finland, FI-70211 Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Vesa-Pekka
authors.initials: VP
authors.lastname: Lehto
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D006207:Half-Life; D056945:Hep G2 Cells; D006801:Humans; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D008422:Materials Testing; D051379:Mice; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D012825:Silicon / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible; D004337:Drug Carriers; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D012825:Silicon
keywords: Biocompatilibity; Opsonization; Polyethylene glycol; Porous silicon nanoparticles; Surface modification