Synthesis of novel chitosan–silica/CpG oligodeoxynucleotide nanohybrids with enhanced delivery efficiency

• Chitosan-silica/CpG ODN nanohybrids (100 nm–200 nm) were synthesized.
• Nanohybrids exhibited a sustained release behavior for CpG ODN.
• Cellular uptake of nanohybrids was enhanced due to presence of silica.
• The released CpG ODN stimulated production of cell cytokine.

Chitosan–silica/CpG oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) nanohybrids were synthesized to stimulate Toll-like receptor 9-mediated induction of interleukin-6 (IL-6). The chitosan–silica hybrid was first synthesized from a mixture of chitosan and 3-glycidoxypropyl trimethoxysilane under acidic conditions via a sol–gel process, and then used to condense CpG ODN2006x3-PD to yield chitosan–silica/CpG ODN nanohybrids. Scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy showed that the chitosan–silica/CpG ODN nanohybrids had an elliptic shape with a diameter of 100–200 nm. After soaking in HAc–NaAc buffer solution (pH 5.5), the nanohybrids exhibited sustained release of CpG ODN. When the nanohybrids were separately exposed to 293XL-hTLR9 cells and peripheral blood mononuclear cells, no significant toxicity was observed. An immunochemical assay for cellular uptake revealed that the nanohybrids were taken up by the cells and located in endolysosomes. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for cytokines indicated that the nanohybrids effectively stimulated the induction of IL-6. Chitosan–silica/CpG ODN nanohybrids underwent cellular uptake and enhanced induction of IL-6 to a greater degree than conventional chitosan/CpG ODN nanocomplexes, indicating that they have an enhanced delivery efficiency.