Facile synthesis of silica hollow microspheres as biocompatible cell carriers

Abstract

Silica hollow microspheres were prepared by using the emulsified gelatin microspheres as novel sacrificial templates and then employed as biocompatible cell carriers. SEM observations show that they were spherical in morphology with a hollow structure and had a diameter of 50–200 µm. FT-IR spectrum reveals that they were rich in Si-O-Si bonds. It is found that gelatin microspheres served as supporting matrix and sacrificial templates responsible for the formation of hollow structure. By seeding the osteoblast MC3T3-E1 cells, each individual silica hollow microsphere was biocompatible and favored cell attachment and proliferation, indicating that they have potential as biocompatible cell carriers.