Hollow Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles (HMSNs) Synthesis and in vitro Evaluation of Cisplatin Delivery

Cisplatin continues to be a first line chemotherapy agent alone or in combination with other cytotoxic agents or radiotherapy. Dose-limiting side effects, intrinsic and acquired resistance are the main reasons for inventing and developing new ways of delivering cisplatin. Biocompatible hollow porous materials offer high void volume, shell porosity, low density and controllable size which make them promising platforms for efficient drug delivery systems. In this study, hollow mesoporous silica nanoparticles (HMSNs) were successfully synthesized by a hard-templating method. Further, the synthesized HMSNs were studied by characterizing their morphology, nanostructure, specific surface area, particle size distribution and chemical composition using FESEM, HRTEM, N-2-Sorption and FTIR techniques, respectively. The high specific surface area (1201 m(2)g(-1)) of the prepared HMSNs resulted in relatively high loading capacity of cisplatin (35 wt.%). Furthermore, release test performed at pH value of 7.4 showed a sustained release pattern. The cytotoxicity of the formulated drug was also examined in c26 colon carcinoma cell lines by MTT assay. The drug loaded HMSNs showed a lower toxicity than free drug due to the sustained drug release.