Silica Mesoporous Structures: Effective Nanocarriers in Drug Delivery and Nanocatalysts

The application of silica mesoporous structures in drug delivery and the removal of pollutants and organic compounds through catalytic reactions is increasing due to their unique characteristics, including high loading capacities, tunable pores, large surface areas, sustainability, and so on. This r...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Masoud Mirzaei, Malihe Babaei Zarch, Mahdieh Darroudi, Khalilollah Sayyadi, Seyed Tahmoures Keshavarz, Jalil Sayyadi, Azadeh Fallah, Hajar Maleki
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-10-01
Series:Applied Sciences
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/21/7533
Description
Summary:The application of silica mesoporous structures in drug delivery and the removal of pollutants and organic compounds through catalytic reactions is increasing due to their unique characteristics, including high loading capacities, tunable pores, large surface areas, sustainability, and so on. This review focuses on very well-studied class of different construction mesoporous silica nano(particles), such as MCM-41, SBA-15, and SBA-16. We discuss the essential parameters involved in the synthesis of these materials with providing a diverse set of examples. In addition, the recent advances in silica mesoporous structures for drug delivery and catalytic applications are presented to fill the existing gap in the literature with providing some promising examples on this topic for the scientists in both industry and academia active in the field. Regarding the catalytic applications, mesoporous silica particles have shown some promises to remove the organic pollutants and to synthesize final products with high yields due to the ease with which their surfaces can be modified with various ligands to create appropriate interactions with target molecules. In the drug delivery process, as nanocarriers, they have also shown very good performance thanks to the easy surface functionalization but also adjustability of their porosities to providing in-vivo and in-vitro cargo delivery at the target site with appropriate rate.
ISSN:2076-3417