Water-soluble photoluminescent fullerene capped mesoporous silica for pH-responsive drug delivery and bioimaging

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 C60 with 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.