Fabrication of asymmetric acorn shell-like silica carriers and their pH/enzyme responsive release performance

Asymmetric structures have many potential advantages when used as drug carriers, but the complex synthesis process is an important factor that limits the application of asymmetric structures. In order to simplify the complex preparation method of asymmetric structures, one-pot method was used to prepare a phenolic resin-silica composite materials with a similar snowman morphology. After calcination in air to remove the resin, asymmetric acorn shell-like mesoporous silica (AMS) carriers with rough surface were obtained, which were expected to improve the efficiency of cellular uptake. Subsequently, selective etching was used to expand its specific surface area to obtain EAMS. After loading chemotherapy drug DOX, hyaluronic acid (HA) molecules were applied to block the loaded drug (DOX@EAMS-HA). The DOX@EAMS-HA system performs pH/enzyme-responsive drug release and good therapeutic effect.