Injectable Porous Silicon Nanoparticles as a Plasma Cytokine Scavenger for Potentiating Cytokine Storm Syndrome Treatment

Abstract

Scavenging excessively secreted cytokines from plasma is vital for treating cytokine storm syndrome (CSS). Therefore, appropriate adsorbent materials are highly desired for efficient and selectively capturing the plasma cytokines. For this purpose, injectable porous silicon particles (PSPs) are designed as scavenging adsorbents. The fabricated PSP features high porosity for large pore volume and high specific surface area. Polyethylene glycol is coated on the outer surface of PSP for a longer body circulation time, while antibodies are immobilized on the interior surface of PSP for the specific recognition of targeting biomacromolecules. The resultant injectable scavengers demonstrate satisfactory performance for sequestering tumor necrosis factor (TNF) or TNF receptor (TNFR) in serum and in vivo. The salient biocompatibility of the preparing scavenger is demonstrated through simulative hemoperfusion experiments and in vivo toxicology tests. Importantly, the scavengers are injected into mice like a drug to rapidly remove blood‐circulating endogenous TNFR. These features together with its facile fabrication present the silicon‐based porous particles as candidates in clinical application for relieving the infection‐induced CSS.