Uniform mesoporous CaSiO3:Eu3+ nanospheres: Template-directed synthesis, luminescence and sustained drug release properties

Mesoporous calcium silicate has emerged as appealing hosts for the exploitation of novel nanocarriers featuring “on demand” drug delivery. The uniform and well-dispersed Eu3+-doped calcium silicate nanospheres have been prepared with monodisperse mesoporous silica nanospheres as template. The as-obtained spherical composite may be potentially applied as a drug carrier due to their advantages such as high biocompatibility, proper particle size (100 nm), large specific surface area, nanosized channels for drug loading and release, superior drug loading capacity and longer efficiency time of the drug release behavior. In particular, the composite exhibits intense red emission at 612 nm. After loading the model drug, the emission intensity decreases evidently. The luminescence intensity change may be potentially applied to monitor or track the drug release process. The mesoporous, biocompatible, and luminescent drug delivery system may find potential applications in fields of controlled drug delivery, cell imaging, and disease diagnosis.