Use of Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxane (POSS) in Drug Delivery, Photodynamic Therapy and Bioimaging

Abstract

Polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) have attracted considerable attention in the design of novel organic-inorganic hybrid materials with high performance capabilities. Features such as their well-defined nanoscale structure, chemical tunability, and biocompatibility make POSS an ideal building block to fabricate hybrid materials for biomedical applications. This review highlights recent advances in the application of POSS-based hybrid materials, with particular emphasis on drug delivery, photodynamic therapy and bioimaging. The design and synthesis of POSS-based materials is described, along with the current methods for controlling their chemical functionalization for biomedical applications. We summarize the advantages of using POSS for several drug delivery applications. We also describe the current progress on using POSS-based materials to improve photodynamic therapies. The use of POSS for delivery of contrast agents or as a passivating agent for nanoprobes is also summarized. We envision that POSS-based hybrid materials have great potential for a variety of biomedical applications including drug delivery, photodynamic therapy and bioimaging.

The Phenazine Scaffold Used as Cytotoxic Pharmacophore Applied in Bactericidal, Antiparasitic and Antitumor Agents

“…Thus, they are ideally suited for probes used in bioimaging and different biomedical purposes, e. g., in photodynamic therapy (PDT). [274] The tetrahedral structure of Si-atoms in a well-defined POSS (with sizes of 1 -3 nm) can provide steric hindrance between intermolecular interactions to prevent the aggregation of nanocages, which induces a quenching effect leading to the decreased emission-quality and singlet oxygen ( 1 O 2 ) generation efficacy in POSS-PSF. The POSS-PSF hybrid conjugates are urgently required for specific in vitro and in vivo applications.…”

Low temperature ATRP of POSS‐MA and its amphiphilic pentablock copolymers

“…Finally, 0.13 g (1.3 mM) CuCl was added to the reaction mixture, and the temperature was raised to 40 C at 5-6 C/min. The PPG macroinitiator, CuCl, PMDETA, and POSS-MA were taken in [1]: [1]: [2]: [10] molar ratios (with respect to the moles of the bromine functionality of the initiator). During the reaction, a slow flow of nitrogen was maintained in the reaction flask to minimize the entry of air inside the reactor.…”

“…The chemical and thermal stability and rigidity impart a special character to POSS as a nanoreinforcer in nanocomposites for the enhancement of mechanical strength, thermal stability, and reduced flammability of the nanocomposites either via chemical bonding or physical blending 6–9 . The biocompatible nature of POSS has also generated significant interest in the application of POSS based hybrids as a suitable drug carrier, vectors for gene therapy, wound healing, tissue culture, nanomedicine, and so forth 10–17 . Furthermore, several studies have also been carried on the application of POSS based hybrids in solid‐state polymer electrolytes for Li‐ion battery applications, catalysis, aerospace materials, coatings, and so forth 2,4,5 …”

“…[6][7][8][9] The biocompatible nature of POSS has also generated significant interest in the application of POSS based hybrids as a suitable drug carrier, vectors for gene therapy, wound healing, tissue culture, nanomedicine, and so forth. [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] Furthermore, several studies have also been carried on the application of POSS based hybrids in solid-state polymer electrolytes for Li-ion battery applications, catalysis, aerospace materials, coatings, and so forth. 2,4,5 Asad Ullah and Saira Ahmad contributed equally to this study.…”

Design of Fluorescent Hybrid Materials Based on POSS for Sensing Applications

“…In the last three decades, the field of POSS has developed greatly due to its well-defined nanostructures, facile chemical modification, and inexpensive precursor materials. There are a number of reviews on the synthesis of POSS compounds [ 22 , 33 , 34 , 35 ], and applications of POSS-based polymeric materials in drug delivery, photodynamic therapy, and bioimaging [ 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 ]. However, we found no review on the advancement of fluorescent hybrid materials based on POSS, describing their properties and applications.…”