Hollow periodic mesoporous organosilica nanospheres by a facile emulsion approach

Periodic mesoporous organosilicas (PMOs) with homogeneously incorporated organic groups, highly ordered mesopores, and controllable morphology have attracted increasing attention. In this work, one-step emulsion approach for preparation of hollow periodic mesoporous organosilica (HPMO) nanospheres has been established. The method is intrinsically simple and does not require any sacrificial templates, corrosive and toxic etching agents. The obtained HPMO nanospheres have high surface area (∼950 m2 g−1), accessible ordered mesochannels (∼3.4 nm), large pore volume (∼3.96 cm3 g−1), high condensation degree (77%), and diameter (∼560 nm), hollow chamber size (∼400 nm), and shell thickness (∼80 nm). Furthermore, cytotoxicity show the cell viability is higher than 86% after incubating with the HPMO nanospheres at a concentration of up to 1200 μg mL−1 for 24 h. The hemolysis of HPMO nanospheres is lower than 1.1% at concentrations ranging from 10 to 2000 μg mL−1. The lower hemolysis and cytotoxicity make the HPMO nanospheres great promise for future biomedical applications.

One-step emulsion approach for preparation of hollow periodic mesoporous organosilica (HPMO) nanospheres has been established. The method is intrinsically simple and does not require any sacrificial templates, corrosive and toxic etching agents. The lower hemolysis and cytotoxicity make the HPMO nanospheres great promise for future biomedical applications.Figure optionsDownload high-quality image (116 K)Download as PowerPoint slide