Mesoporous silica nanoparticles with organo-bridged silsesquioxane framework as innovative platforms for bioimaging and therapeutic agent delivery

Mesoporous silica material with organo-bridged silsesquioxane frameworks is a kind of synergistic combination of inorganic silica, mesopores and organics, resulting in some novel or enhanced physicochemical and biocompatible properties compared with conventional mesoporous silica materials with pure Si-O composition. With the rapid development of nanotechnology, monodispersed nanoscale periodic mesoporous organosilica nanoparticles (PMO NPs) and organo-bridged mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) with various organic groups and structures have recently been synthesized from 100%, or less, bridged organosilica precursors, respectively. Since then, these materials have been employed as carrier platforms to construct bioimaging and/or therapeutic agent delivery nanosystems for nano-biomedical application, and they demonstrate some unique and/or enhanced properties and performances. This review article provides a comprehensive overview of the controlled synthesis of PMO NPs and organo-bridged MSNs, physicochemical and biocompatible properties, and their nano-biomedical application as bioimaging agent and/or therapeutic agent delivery system.