Speaker
Description
In the last years, the use of nanomaterials in different fields has been continuously expanding due to their unique properties. Particularly, they play a crucial role as controlled drug delivery systems in medical applications. Among them, mesoporous silica nanoparticles are widely utilized due to their high loading capacity and ease of functionalization, enabling the incorporation of stimuli-responsive molecular gates for targeted and controlled drug release.
Nowadays, it is expected that nanomaterials not only control the drug released but also can move independently. Thus, new nanomaterials known as nanomotors are developed. In the present work, Janus nanoparticles have been employed to construct a nanomotor for controlled delivery. These nanomaterials are composed by two different nanoparticles: a mesoporous silica nanoparticle (MCM- 41) provided with glucose oxidase and a boronic acid ester-based pH-sensitive gate-like ensemble, and iridium nanoparticles. Silica face allows encapsulation and further release of the drug while the iridium face causes the movement of the nanomotor. In the presence of glucose, the nanocarrier enzymatically produces gluconic acid and H2O2, causing pH decrease with consequent disassembly of the gating mechanism and release of the encapsulated cargo, whereas the catalytic decomposition of H2O2 on the iridium surface generates oxygen provoking the motion. This nanomotor was carefully characterized and successfully evaluate to on-command release of Doxorubicin in HeLa cancer cells. Then, we envision that the present results can open new opportunities for the construction of a large variety of nanomachines with self-propulsion capacity and enzymatic control for smart delivery of drugs.
