Pendant/bridged/mesoporous silsesquioxane nanoparticles: Versatile and biocompatible platforms for smart delivery of therapeutics

Abstract

Silsesquioxane nanoparticles are composed of repetitive organosilica fragments in their frameworks and are now recognized to have outstanding functional fertility. Depending on the organosilane and the synthetic pathways, silsesquioxane NPs can be pendant, bridged, dense or porous. Recently the diverse functionalities of mesoporous silsesquioxane nanoparticles have been exploited for the sake of drug-related biomedicine. Fine-tuning the silsesquioxane nanoparticles characteristics allow not only a superior retention capacity of therapeutics without the need of any further modification, but also a controlled release through various environmentally-stimulated triggers. The main focus of the present review is to highlight the different types of silsesquioxane nanoparticles and their exceptional features focused on controlled delivery of drugs, proteins, antibodies and DNA through pH, redox or light stimuli.