Abstract
The chance of exposure to heavy metal for human being rises severely today due to the increasing water contamination and air pollution. Here, we prepared a series of thiol-functionalized mesoporous silica as oral formulation for the prevention and treatment of heavy metal poisoning. The successful incorporation of thiol was verified by the FTIR spectra. SBA15-SH-10 was used for the study as it is of uniform mesopores and fine water dispersibility. In simulated gastrointestinal fluid, the thiol-functionalized mesoporous silica can selectively capture heavy metal, showing a very high affinity for inorganic mercury (II). The blood and urine mercury levels of rats fed with a diet containing Hg (II) and material were significantly lower than those of rats fed with the metal-rich diet only. On the contrary, the mercury content in fecal excretion of the treatment group increased more than twice as much as that of the control group. This result indicated that SBA15-SH-10 could effectively remove mercury (II)in vivoand the mercury loaded on SBA15-SH-10 would be excreted out. Hence, SBA15-SH-10 has potential application in preventing and treating heavy metal poisoningviadigestive system.
Highlights
The mesoporous silica has attracted great attention for its low cytotoxicity, excellent chemical stability, and rationally modifiable surface [1, 2]
We demonstrated that the thiol-functionalized mesoporous silica (SBA15-SH-10) could selectively trap heavy metal ions
Ordered thiol-functionalized mesoporous silica was synthesized via cocondensation method
Summary
The mesoporous silica has attracted great attention for its low cytotoxicity, excellent chemical stability, and rationally modifiable surface [1, 2]. The large surface area and pore volume of mesoporous silica underlie facile adsorption and high loading effect of various therapeutic agents [3, 4]. Surface properties of mesoporous silica could be tailored, which allows us to tune the length scales and novel properties. These advantages indicate that mesoporous silica has potential application in toxin adsorption. There is possibility of mercury remnant even receiving the treatment of gastrolavage and clyster. By taking advantages of the large surface area of the mesoporous silica materials, we intend to design an oral antidote for metallic cations detoxification in the abovementioned cases. The unmodified mesoporous silica cannot trap heavy metal efficiently
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