Urchin-like Porous Silica Nanoparticles for Simultaneous Intracellular Delivery of Doxorubicin and RNase A

Urchin-like porous silica nanoparticles (UPSNs) with hierarchical dual-pore structure and tunable particle size have been synthesized by utilizing sodium salicylate (NaSal) and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as co-structure-directing agents in aqueous solution. The effects of various experimental parameters on these tunable UPSNs have been systematically investigated. Interestingly, the particle size and pore structure transition from a uniform small mesopore to a hierarchical dual pore can be effectively changed by simply adjusting the concentrations of NaSal. Furthermore, a possible mechanism for the formation of the UPSNs with a hierarchical dual-pore structure was proposed based on the synthesized parameter and influence factor. Finally, the typical UPSNs were further used as an efficient codelivery nanocarrier for intracellular delivery of DOX and RNase A. Our results demonstrated that the UPSNs with a hierarchical dual-pore structure are promising drug codelivery nanocarriers.