Strategies to Regulate the Degradability of Mesoporous Silica-based Nanoparticles for Biomedical Applications

Cancer is the second major threat to human health, and more effective cancer therapy strategies are imperative. With the development of nanotechnology, mesoporous silica-based nanoparticles (MSNs) have seen unprecedented development in cancer treatment, such as drug delivery, bioimaging and biosensing. They have received extensive attention because of their easy preparation, adjustable morphology, homogeneous pore structure, high surface areas and good biocompatibility. However, cumulative toxicity for organism caused by the low degradability of MSNs heavily hinders their translation from bench to beside. Enhancing the degradability of MSNs has provided an effective solution to solve this problem. This review aims at summarizing the effective strategies utilized to regulate the degradability of MSNs during the last few years, giving a complete overview on the recent progress and remaining challenges of degradable MSNs.