Latex-templated biomineralization of silica nanoparticles with porous shell and their application for drug delivery

A latex-templating method for synthesizing the core-shell silica nanoparticles (NPs) with porous shell was developed via biomineralization in the presence of poly[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl] trimethylammonium chloride (pDMC)-modified polystyrene latex. Calcination of the as-obtained SiO 2 NPs led to the removal of the latex core and consequently to hollow silica NPs with porous shell. In particularly, the microstructure and thickness of silica shell could be controlled by simply changing the reaction parameters of silicification. Furthermore, facile encapsulation of a drug molecules and its sustained release were demonstrated. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133 , 44200.