Structurally Ordered Mesoporous Carbon Nanoparticles as Transmembrane Delivery Vehicle in Human Cancer Cells

Abstract

A structurally ordered, CMK-1 type mesoporous carbon nanoparticle (MCN) material was successfully synthesized by using a MCM-48 type mesoporous silica nanoparticle as template. The structure of MCN was analyzed by a series of different techniques, including the scanning and transmission electron microscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, and N2 sorption analysis. To the best of our knowledge, no study has been reported prior to our investigation on the utilization of these structurally ordered mesoporous carbon nanoparticles for the delivery of membrane impermeable chemical agents inside of eukaryotic cells. The cellular uptake efficiency and biocompatibility of MCN with human cervical cancer cells (HeLa) were investigated. Our results show that the inhibitory concentration (IC50) value of MCN is very high (>50 μg/mL per million cells) indicating that MCN is fairly biocompatible in vitro. Also, a membrane impermeable fluorescence dye, Fura-2, was loaded to the mesoporous matrix of MCN. We demonstrated that the MCN material could indeed serve as a transmembrane carrier for delivering Fura-2 through the cell membrane to release these molecules inside of live HeLa cells. We envision that further developments of this MCN material will lead to a new generation of nanodevices for transmembrane delivery and intracellular release applications. Disciplines Chemistry CommentsReprinted (adapted) with permission from Nano Letters 8 (2008) Received July 6, 2008; Revised Manuscript Received September 17, 2008 ABSTRACT A structurally ordered, CMK-1 type mesoporous carbon nanoparticle (MCN) material was successfully synthesized by using a MCM-48 type mesoporous silica nanoparticle as template. The structure of MCN was analyzed by a series of different techniques, including the scanning and transmission electron microscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, and N 2 sorption analysis. To the best of our knowledge, no study has been reported prior to our investigation on the utilization of these structurally ordered mesoporous carbon nanoparticles for the delivery of membrane impermeable chemical agents inside of eukaryotic cells. The cellular uptake efficiency and biocompatibility of MCN with human cervical cancer cells (HeLa) were investigated. Our results show that the inhibitory concentration (IC 50 ) value of MCN is very high (>50 µg/mL per million cells) indicating that MCN is fairly biocompatible in vitro. Also, a membrane impermeable fluorescence dye, Fura-2, was loaded to the mesoporous matrix of MCN. We demonstrated that the MCN material could indeed serve as a transmembrane carrier for delivering Fura-2 through the cell membrane to release these molecules inside of live HeLa cells. We envision that further developments of this MCN material will lead to a new generation of nanodevices for transmembrane delivery and intracellular release applications.

High drug-loading nanomedicines: progress, current status, and prospects

“…[56][57][58] In early reports, MC microparticles were used to improve the oral absorption of water-insoluble drugs with drug-loading content higher than 50%. 57,[59][60][61][62][63][64] …”

Mesoporous carbon biomaterials

“…Polymerization/carbonization of carbon sources at high temperature and removal of the silica template by chemical etching then produces ordered mesoporous carbon [37]. Based on the nanocasting method, Kim et al [38] constructed spherical MCNs with ordered mesoporous structures using MCM-48 MSNs as the hard template. The average particle size of as-synthesized MCNs was ~150 nm.…”

“…Therefore, MCNs can be regarded as one of the most promising carriers for efficient drug delivery. Kim et al [38] synthesized CMK-1 MCNs via nanocasting using MCM-48 MSNs as the hard template. Fura-2 membrane-impermeable fluorescent dye molecules were encapsulated within MCNs for transmembrane delivery in human cancer cells (Fig.…”

Hydrophilic mesoporous carbon nanospheres with high drug-loading efficiency for doxorubicin delivery and cancer therapy

“…4,5 In addition, MCNs with suitable size can be easily uptaken by tumor cells. 6,7 All these make MCNs promising materials in transmembrane delivery and stimuli-responsive releasing vehicles.…”