Porous Silicon Nanodiscs for Targeted Drug Delivery

• Published in: Advanced functional materials Vol. 25; no. 7; pp. 1137 - 1145
• Main Authors: Alhmoud, Hashim, Delalat, Bahman, Elnathan, Roey, Cifuentes-Rius, Anna, Chaix, Arnaud, Rogers, Mary-Louise, Durand, Jean-Olivier, Voelcker, Nicolas H.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Blackwell Publishing Ltd 18.02.2015; Wiley
• Subjects: anticancer; Cancer; Chemical etching; Chemical Sciences; drug delivery; Drug delivery systems; Drugs; Lithography; nanodiscs; Nanoparticles; Nanostructure; Organic chemistry; Porous silicon
• ISSN: 1616-301X; 1616-3028
• DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201403414

There is a strong demand for techniques that allow the fabrication of biocompatible porous nanoparticles for drug delivery applications. In this work, a new method to fabricate size‐ and shape‐controlled porous silicon (pSi) nanodiscs is described. The process relies on a combination of colloidal lithography and metal‐assisted chemical etching. Height and diameter of the pSi nanodiscs can be easily adjusted. The nanodiscs are degradable in physiological milieu and are nontoxic to mammalian cells. In order to highlight the potential of the pSi nanodiscs in drug delivery, an in vitro investigation that involved loading of nanodiscs with the anticancer agent camptothecin and functionalization of the nanodisc periphery with an antibody that targets receptors on the surface of neuroblastoma cells is carried out. The thus‐prepared nanocarriers are found to selectively attach to and kill cancer cells. The fabrication of disc‐shaped porous silicon nanoparticles through nanosphere lithography and metal‐assisted chemical etching is described. The presented method provides a facile approach to controlling the shape and size of the resulting porous silicon nanoparticles. The targeted delivery of an anticancer drug to cancer cells is undertaken to demonstrate the potential of these particles as drug nanocarriers.