Biography
Biography: Muhammad Umair Amin
Abstract
Delivery of chemotherapeutics, in higher doses to specific sites of action without side effects, is a big challenge. Recent developments in the field of nanotechnology, including the use of inorganic materials, have opened up new dimensions. Mesoporous silica nanoparticles as drug carrier address many problems related to chemotherapeutic targeting and delivery. Larger surface area and higher drug loading capacity, mechanical strength and stability, entrapping both hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs, tailorable pore size and pore volume, inner and outer surface for modification and drug attachment, controlled particle size and distribution, lipid coating and gene delivery, make them a suitable candidate as a drug carrier. Hexagonal micelles of surfactants (CTAB: Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide) interact with silica source (TEOS: Tetraethylorthosilicate) to form a firm silica structure. Then removal of micelles leaves behind mesoporous silica nanoparticles. Mesoporous silica nanoparticle fabrication is based on hydrolysis and condensation reaction in a basic environment and a specific surfactant/silica molar mass ratio is crucial for the preparation of particles. Surfactant removal was confirmed by elemental analysis and the porous structure was confirmed by TEM images. Pore size was in the range of 2-3nm. Our studies have shown the high entrapment of doxorubicin in particles due to the availability of porous structure. Lipid coating of drug-loaded particles not only protects the drug from premature release in circulation but also due to the compatibility of a lipid bilayer with the cellular membrane, lipid-coated mesoporous silica nanoparticles enhance the cellular uptake of doxorubicin. In our studies, the lipid-coated silica nanoparticles have shown higher cellular toxicity as compared to non-lipid coated particles. Drug release profile and increase in cytotoxicity with time, support the hypothesis of sustained release of drug from lipid coated mesoporous silica nanoparticles.