Dissertation
Mesoporous silica nanoparticle-based protein delivery systems for biomedical applications
Promotor: A. Kros
- Author
- Jing Tu
- Date
- 21 December 2016
- Links
- Thesis in Leiden Repository
Proteins play a crucial role in life, taking part in all vital process in the body, and are therefore used as therapeutic agents in a diverse range of biomedical applications. When administrated into bodily fluids, most native proteins are prone to degradation or inactivation process. The challenges of protein delivery are overcoming poor stability, low permeability toward cell membrane. Among all existing materials for protein delivery, mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) are one of the most promising intracellular nanocarriers due to its key properties: biocompatible, straightforward synthesis, and surface modification. For various biomedical applications, monodisperse MSNs with a particle size in the 50-200 nm range,3 controllable surface chemistry,4 and a large pore size (> 5 nm) are desired. This thesis presents a new method to synthesize large disc-like pore (10 ± 1 nm) containing MSNs with an elongated cuboidal-like geometry (90 × 43 nm), which effectively encapsulate and release proteins.