Issue 32, 2017, Issue in Progress

Stabilizing silica nanoparticles in hydrogels: impact on storage and polydispersity

Abstract

For successful nanomedicine, it is important that the unique, size-dependent physico-chemical properties of the nanomaterial remain predictably constant during both the storage and the manipulation of the material. Here a novel approach to preserve the colloidal stability and degradation of NPs is described. The concept is simple: (a) a solution of monodisperse particles is formulated into a responsive water- or PBS-based hydrogel; (b) the gel can be reversibly turned into a solution after long term storage by shaking it by hand; (c) the NP can be diluted and used in any desired application without the need for excessive manipulation. The differences between the physico-chemical properties of NPs stored in solution and in gel are compared. Two types of NPs were involved in this study: silica NPs of ∼100 nm and Au-NPs of 30 and 80 nm in diameter. The key findings are: the fibrous matrix of the hydrogel limits the NP mobility, significantly reduces NP aggregation and conserves the NP morphology; both the hydrogelator and the NPs show negligible toxicity towards the model U937 human hematopoietic cell line; undesired leaching of cargo material loaded inside the particles is reduced, which could be an important feature for drug delivery systems.

Graphical abstract: Stabilizing silica nanoparticles in hydrogels: impact on storage and polydispersity

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
27 Feb 2017
Accepted
27 Mar 2017
First published
05 Apr 2017
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

RSC Adv., 2017,7, 19924-19933

Stabilizing silica nanoparticles in hydrogels: impact on storage and polydispersity

G. Giovannini, F. Kunc, C. C. Piras, O. Stranik, A. A. Edwards, A. J. Hall and V. Gubala, RSC Adv., 2017, 7, 19924 DOI: 10.1039/C7RA02427D

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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