Applications of Nanomaterials Based on Magnetite and Mesoporous Silica on the Selective Detection of Zinc Ion in Live Cell Imaging

Abstract

Functionalized magnetite nanoparticles (FMNPs) and functionalized mesoporous silica nanoparticles (FMSNs) were synthesized by the conjugation of magnetite and mesoporous silica with the small and fluorogenic benzothiazole ligand, that is, 2(2-hydroxyphenyl)benzothiazole (hpbtz). The synthesized fluorescent nanoparticles were characterized by FTIR, XRD, XRF, 13C CP MAS NMR, BET, and TEM. The photophysical behavior of FMNPs and FMSNs in ethanol was studied using fluorescence spectroscopy. The modification of magnetite and silica scaffolds with the highly fluorescent benzothiazole ligand enabled the nanoparticles to be used as selective and sensitive optical probes for zinc ion detection. Moreover, the presence of hpbtz in FMNPs and FMSNs induced efficient cell viability and zinc ion uptake, with desirable signaling in the normal human kidney epithelial (Hek293) cell line. The significant viability of FMNPs and FMSNs (80% and 92%, respectively) indicates a potential applicability of these nanoparticles as in vitro imaging agents. The calculated limit of detections (LODs) were found to be 2.53 × 10−6 and 2.55 × 10−6 M for Fe3O4-H@hpbtz and MSN-Et3N-IPTMS-hpbtz-f1, respectively. FMSNs showed more pronounced zinc signaling relative to FMNPs, as a result of the more efficient penetration into the cells.

Multifunctional Silica-Based Nanoparticles with Controlled Release of Organotin Metallodrug for Targeted Theranosis of Breast Cancer

“…In this sense, nanomaterials can act as suitable vectors for metallodrug delivery by (i) protecting the active species from degradation, (ii) enhancing their therapeutic activity [26], (iii) increasing drug bioavailability and specificity, or (iv) increasing the solubility [23,[27][28][29][30]. Because of its synthetic flexibility and biocompatibility, mesoporous silica-based nanostructured materials (MSN) represent one of the most used nanovectors in biomedicine, with special importance in metallodrug-based drug delivery systems [23,[31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38]. Consequently, the MSNs have stood out in different biomedical fields such as molecular imaging (fluorescence and magnetic resonance imaging) and drug delivery [39][40][41][42][43][44][45].…”

Two distinct cellular pathways leading to endothelial cell cytotoxicity by silica nanoparticle size

“…In addition, lipid bilayer coatings or organic modifications are applied at nanoparticle surfaces protection or release control of such cargo [4, 5]. Recently, various hybrid nanocomposites containing SiNPs have been synthesized and applied for controlled drug delivery and targeted imaging agents [6, 7]. Nonetheless, the potential risks of SiNPs on human heath have not yet been fully assessed.…”

Mesoporous Silica Platforms with Potential Applications in Release and Adsorption of Active Agents

“…The detection of chemical residues can be performed through fluorescent sensing, a promising tool that uses specifically designed fluorophores with aggregation induced emission (AIE) effects. This particularity is of great technological importance and it is represented by an emission upon molecular aggregation provided by its restriction of intramolecular motion (RIM) process [ 149 ]. AIE fluorophores have generally been used as chemical sensors for assessing the pH, explosives, carbon dioxide, amines, and metal ions as they are highly advantageous in terms of facile fabrication, ready functionalization, excellent stability, high signal-to-noise ratio, and low detection limit [ 149 ].…”