Reshaping silica particles : Mesoporous nanodiscs for bimodal delivery and improved cellular uptake

The role played by the shape of mesoporous silica nanoparticles has been investigated for intra- and extracellular delivery. Specifically, we have developed the bottom-up synthesis of flat disc-shaped mesoporous silica nanoparticles, the Nanodiscs (NDs). Due to their peculiar shape and large porous system, NDs present a higher cellular uptake than commonly investigated spherical mesoporous nanoparticles. Moreover, NDs are able to efficiently perform exhaustive delivery of their therapeutic cargo when loaded with the anticancer drug Doxorubicin and administered in vitro to cancerous HeLa cells. Thanks to their aspect ratio, NDs can also be readily assembled into well-organized monolayers to be employed in HeLa cells adhesion experiments upon preliminary functionalization with a specific targeting ligand. In these conditions NDs are able to deliver a hydrophobic dye to adhered cells via the highly accessible vertically aligned pores and their flat surface that ensures optimal cell contact. This initial investigation on the performance of NDs in both intra- and extracellular delivery activities suggests the great potential of these particles.