Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles as Theranostic Antitumoral Nanomedicines

Abstract

Nanoparticles have become a powerful tool in oncology not only as carrier of the highly toxic chemotherapeutic drugs but also as imaging contrast agents that provide valuable information about the state of the disease and its progression. The enhanced permeation and retention effect for loaded nanocarriers in tumors allow substantial improvement of selectivity and safety of anticancer nanomedicines. Additionally, the possibility to design stimuli-responsive nanocarriers able to release their payload in response to specific stimuli provide an excellent control on the administered dosage. The aim of this review is not to present a comprehensive revision of the different theranostic mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) which have been published in the recent years but just to describe a few selected examples to offer a panoramic view to the reader about the suitability and effectiveness of these nanocarriers in the oncology field.

Keywords: antitumoral therapy; mesoporous silica nanoparticles; nanomedicine; theranostics.

Figure 1

In vivo imaging of tumor-bearing mice after the injection of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) decorated with YQ26 aptamer. Left image shows the accumulation of nanocarriers in the tumor located in the flank of the mice. The graph located in the right quantified the accumulation of nanocarrier by fluorescence. ∗∗∗ p < 0.001. Reproduced from [41], Ivyspring International Publisher, 2017.

Figure 2

Ultrasound (US)-sensitive polymer coating to control drug-departure in MSN. Polymer shell collapsed at physiological temperature blocking drug departure while adopting an extended conformation under US releasing the payload. Reproduced with permission from [57], American Chemical Society, 2015.

Figure 3

Mechanism of drug release and MRI contrast enhancement of MSN@USMO by dissolution of manganese nanoparticles in mild acidic conditions. Reproduced with permission from [65], American Chemical Society, 2018.

Figure 4

MSN able to induce antitumoral response by synergic effect of the release of immunostimulating agents CpG and neoantigens and PDT. The animals exhibited a significant tumor reduction even in tumors located in non-irradiated flank confirming the abscopal antitumoral effect. Reproduced with permission from [77], American Chemical Society, 2019.