Cationic poly(ɛ-caprolactone) surface functionalized mesoporous silica nanoparticles and their application in drug delivery

Cationic poly(ɛ-caprolactone) modified hollow mesoporous silica (HMSNs) was achieved by a post graft method via covalent linkage between the silanols on the surface of silica and the trimethoxysilane groups at the end of the poly(γ-(carbamic acid benzyl ester)-ɛ-caprolactone). The trimethoxysilane groups were introduced to poly(γ-(carbamic acid benzyl ester)-ɛ-caprolactone) by ring opening polymerization of γ-(carbamic acid benzyl ester)-ɛ-caprolactone (γCABɛCL) with 3-aminopropyl trimethoxysilane as initiator. Subsequently, the polymer was grafted to the HMSNs and the protected groups of Cbz were removed, thus the amino groups were obtained accordingly. The structure of the polymer was confirmed by 1 H NMR. In addition, the TEM and SEM demonstrated that the HMSNs were spherical and the polymer was well coated on the spheres. FTIR, TGA and N 2 adsorption results proved that the modified processes were effective and the structure of the HMSNs was well reserved. The cationic surface was further confirmed by zeta potential. Moreover, the potential application of the HMSNs in drug delivery was studied with ammonium glycyrrhizinate (AMG) as model drug. Results showed that the cationic HMSNs could be an efficient AMG carrier.