Multifunctional drug carriers comprised of mesoporous silica nanoparticles and polyamidoamine dendrimers based on layer-by-layer assembly

To overcome serious limitations encountered by mesoporous silica nanoparticle (MSN) and dendrimers used alone, and to further enhance their performance for application in cancer treatment, multifunctional mesoporous silica nanoparticles as nanocarriers were prepared by layer-by-layer assembly method, with biocompatible Polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers and chondroitin sulfate (CS). Due to being incorporated to MSN, PAMAM dendrimers can avoid the fast clearance. Attributing to the multilayer coating of PAMAM dendrimers and CS, the nanocarriers possess self-fluorescent property, avoiding the use of fluorescent labels and enabling to release drugs responded to pH. Furthermore, chondroitin sulfate, a natural polysaccharide found in bone, cartilage, and connective tissue, can be served as linking points to bring dendrimers together, and enhance the delivery performance via its targeting ability. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.