title: Water-soluble photoluminescent fullerene capped mesoporous silica for pH-responsive drug delivery and bioimaging.
abstract: In this paper, a biocompatible and water-soluble fluorescent fullerene (C60-TEG-COOH) coated mesoporous silica nanoparticle (MSN) was successfully fabricated for pH-sensitive drug release and fluorescent cell imaging. The MSN was first reacted with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane to obtain an amino-modified MSN, and then the water-soluble C60with a carboxyl group was used to cover the surface of the MSN through electrostatic interaction with the amino group in PBS solution (pH = 7.4). The release of doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) could be triggered under a mild acidic environment (lysosome, pH = 5.0) due to the protonation of C60-TEG-COO-, which induced the dissociation of the C60-TEG-COOH modified MSN (MSN@C60). Furthermore, the uptake of nanoparticles by cells could be tracked because of the green fluorescent property of the C60-modified MSN. In an in vitro study, the prepared materials showed excellent biocompatibility and the DOX-loaded nanocarrier exhibited efficient anticancer ability. This work offered a simple method for designing a simultaneous pH-responsive drug delivery and bioimaging system.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biomedical Polymers of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Molecular Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Zhao-Wen
authors.initials: ZW
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Jian-Yun
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.forename: Ren-Xi
authors.initials: RX
authors.lastname: Zhuo
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Chuan-Jun
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Liu