Well-defined Surface Properties Research Articles

Expeditious degradation of SMX by high-valent cobalt-oxo species derived from cobalt-doped C3N5-activated peroxymonosulfate with the assistance of visible light

With excellent photoelectric properties and catalytic stability, carbon nitride and its derivatives are drawing increasing interest in persulfate activation for treating emerging pollutants in wastewater. In the present work, the synthesized cobalt-doped C3N5 (C3N5-Co) has well-defined surface properties and excellent performance in SMX degradation by activating peroxymonosulfate (PMS) with the assistance of visible light, and the removal rate can reach 99.57 % within 20 min. Moreover, the system shows superior operability over a wide pH range with promising catalytic stability and environmental suitability. Quenching experiments and EPR spectroscopic indicated that high-valent cobalt oxide (Co(IV)) species, SO4•-, •OH, O2•-, and 1O2 work in C3N5-Co0.59/PMS/SMX-vis combined system. The conversion of the oxidation product phenyl methyl sulfoxide (PMSO2) > 98 % using phenyl methyl sulfoxide (PMSO) as a probe agent demonstrated that high-valent cobalt oxide (Co(IV)) species as the major active species dominated the degradation process of SMX. The Co(II) species on the surface of C3N5-Co0.59 worked as a direct driver to rapidly and efficiently activate the PMS, producing various active species involved in the degradation process, while the photo-carriers generated by visible radiation act as another contributing force to regenerate Co(II) species and activate PMS. This study presented the heterogeneous C3N5-Co0.59/PMS/SMX-vis system is an effective strategy for the degradation of emerging pollutants and provides a promising novel ideal for the treatment of various organic pollutants in wastewater.

Multifunctional Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles for Oral Drug Delivery

Nanotechnology has transformed engineering designs across a wide spectrum of materials and applications. Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles (MSNs) are one of the new fabrications of nanostructures as medication delivery systems. MSNs have pore sizes varying from 2 to 50 nm, making them ideal for a variety of biological applications. They offer unique characteristics such as a tunable surface area, well-defined surface properties, and the ability to improve drug pharmacokinetic characteristics. Moreover, they have the potential to reduce adverse effects by delivering a precise dose of medications to a specific spot rather than the more frequent systemic delivery, which diffuses across tissues and organs. In addition, the vast number of pores allow drug incorporation and transportation of drugs to various sites making MSNs a feasible platform for orally administered drugs. Though the oral route is the most suitable and convenient platform for drug delivery, conventional oral drug delivery systems are associated with several limitations. Surpassing gastrointestinal barriers and the low oral bioavailability of poorly soluble medicines pose a major challenge in the pharmaceutical industry. This review provides insights into the role of MSNs and its mechanism as an oral drug delivery system.

Characterization of thermal and anodic oxide layers on β- and on near-β-titanium alloys for biomedical application

Abstract β- and near-β-Ti alloys for biomedical applications show a favourable mix of mechanical, biological and biocompatible properties. In this study, oxide layers on Ti13Nb13Zr, Ti15Mo5Zr3Al, Ti30Nb and Ti30Ta were prepared by thermal and anodic oxidation, in order to adjust constant, reproducible and well-defined surface properties. The thickness, the phase composition and the element composition of the oxide layers were determined. The corrosion properties were investigated by current density –potential curves under physiological conditions. Depending on the oxidation parameters, film thicknesses in the range 10 – 250 nm can be prepared. The thermal oxide layers consist predominantly of TiO2 in rutile structure while the anodized samples show a mixture of anatase and amorphous TiO2. In addition, certain amounts of mixed oxides of titanium and alloying elements such as TiZrO4 or TiNb2O7 are found in the oxide films. The corrosion resistance of the oxidized samples is increased as compared with the polished samples whose current densities in the range of passivity are comparable to that of Ti6Al4V.

Surface morphology engineering of DAST (N, N-dimethylamino-N’-methylstilbazolium p-tosylate) crystal using DSNS (N, N-dimethylamino-N’-methylstilbazolium p-napthelenesulphonate) as an additive

The N, N-dimethylamino-N’-methylstilbazolium p-tosylate (DAST) is one of the most popular organic nonlinear optical crystal used for Terahertz generation and detection. One of the important factors that determine the efficiency of the THz generation from this crystal is the surface quality. In this article, DAST crystal is grown with another stilbazolium salt N, N-dimethylamino-N’-methylstilbazolium p-napthelenesulphonate (DSNS) as an additive. The crystal structure of the developed crystals were determined via X-ray diffraction crystallography and was found that the DAST crystal grown in the assembly of DSNS additive belongs to monoclinic crystal system and space group Cc. In the case of DAST crystal grown with DSNS as an additive, the surface is observed to be very smooth and lacks cracks and defects like NLD, twins and hillocks. The presence of DSNS has facilitated the growth of DAST crystals with well-defined surface properties. The results of Powder XRD, UV, PL and SEM analysis are compared with pure DAST crystal and discussed.

Preparation of anisotropic multiscale micro-hydrogels via two-photon continuous flow lithography

HypothesisPolymeric anisotropic soft microparticles show interesting behavior in biological environments and hold promise for drug delivery and biomedical applications. However, self-assembly and substrate-based lithographic techniques are limited by low resolution, batch operation or specific particle geometry and deformability. Two-photon polymerization in microfluidic channels may offer the required resolution to continuously fabricate anisotropic micro-hydrogels in sub-10 µm size-range. ExperimentsHere, a pulsed laser source is used to perform two-photon polymerization under microfluidic flow of a poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) solution with the objective of realizing anisotropic micro-hydrogels carrying payloads of various nature, including small molecules and nanoparticles. The fabrication process is described via a reactive-convective-diffusion system of equations, whose solution under proper auxiliary conditions is used to corroborate the experimental observations and sample the configuration space. FindingsBy tuning the flow velocity, exposure time and pre-polymer composition, anisotropic PEGDA micro-hydrogels are obtained in the 1–10 μm size-range and exhibit an aspect ratio varying from 1 to 5. Furthermore, 200 nm curcumin-loaded poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles and 100 nm ssRNA-encapsulating lipid nanoparticles were entrapped within square PEGDA micro-hydrogels. The proposed approach could support the fabrication of micro-hydrogels of well-defined morphology, stiffness, and surface properties for the sustained release of therapeutic agents.

Well-Defined Lignin Model Films from Colloidal Lignin Particles.

The transformation of a molecularly complex and irregularly shaped lignin into a nanoscale spherical architecture is anticipated to play a pivotal role in the promotion of lignin valorization. From the standpoint of using colloidal lignin particles (CLPs) as building blocks for a diverse range of applications, it has become essential to study their interactions with soluble compounds of varied origin. However, the lack of model films with well-defined surface properties similar to those of CLPs has hindered fundamental studies using surface-sensitive techniques. Here, we report well-defined and stable thin films prepared from CLPs and demonstrate their suitability for investigation of surface phenomena. Direct adsorption on substrates coated with a cationic anchoring polymer resulted in uniform distribution of CLPs as shown with atomic force microscopy (AFM). Quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) experiments revealed higher adsorbed mass of cationic lignin onto the CLP-coated substrate in comparison to the film prepared from dissolved lignin, suggesting preferential adsorption via the carboxylic acid enriched surfaces of CLPs. QCM-D further enabled detection of small changes such as particle swelling or partial dissolution not detectable via bulk methods such as light scattering. The CLP thin films remained stable until pH 8 and displayed only a low degree of swelling. Increasing the pH to 10 led to some instability, but their spherical geometry remained intact until complete dissolution was observed at pH 12. Particles prepared from aqueous acetone or aqueous tetrahydrofuran solution followed similar trends regarding adsorption, pH stability, and wetting, although the particle size affected the magnitude of adsorption. Overall, our results present a practical way to prepare well-defined CLP thin films that will be useful not only for fundamental studies but also as a platform for testing stability and interactions of lignin nanoparticles with materials of technical and biomedical relevance.

Correction to Acidity/Reducibility Dual-Responsive Hollow Mesoporous Organosilica Nanoplatforms for Tumor-Specific Self-Assembly and Synergistic Therapy.

Featured with a large surface area, uniform interpenetrating mesopores, diverse organic framework hybridization, and well-defined surface properties, the hollow mesoporous organosilica nanoparticle (HMON) represents a promising paradigm in drug delivery systems with excellent biocompatibility. However, effective tumor accumulation and precise cancer theranostics of the HMON still remain a challenge. In this study, an “ammonia-assisted hot water etching” method is applied for the successful construction of sub-50 nm thioether/phenylene dual-hybridized HMON with low hemolytic effect. Particularly, the surface modification with Mo(VI)-based polyoxometalate (POM) clusters drives the self-assembly of HMON in the mild acidic tumor microenvironment (TME) to achieve enhanced tumor retention and accumulation. More importantly, the reducibility-activated Mo(VI)-to-Mo(V) conversion within POM not only endows the POM-anchored HMON with outstanding TME-responsive photoacoustic (PA) imaging contrast and photothermal th...

3D Pt/Graphene foam bioplatform for highly sensitive and selective in-situ adsorption and detection of superoxide anions released from living cells

A 3D sensing platform comprising Pt particles on graphene foam (Pt@GF) with well-defined surface and interface properties is developed to realize in-situ monitoring of superoxide anion (O2−) released from cells. It has found that Pt particles-impregnated 3D GF renders rich positively charged sites to enable strong O2− adsorption, which greatly enhances sensitivity towards O2− detection. Compared with 2D Pt@graphene sheet, the 3D Pt@GF is much more electrochemically active with a 6.5-time lower charge transfer resistance. Additionally, the porous 3D structure of Pt@GF promotes the attachment and growth of cells, providing a biocompatible platform to directly grow cells (cells@Pt@GF) for in-situ molecular sensing. Due to the merits mentioned above, the 3D cells@Pt@GF bioplatform as an in-situ O2− biosensor achieves a high sensitivity (1597.17 μA nM−1 cm-2), low detection limit (10 nM), fast response (3.6 s) and good selectivity. In particular, this detection limit is the best among all reported in-situ O2− biosensors with cells directly growing on the platforms. This work provides a 3D superior bioplatform for sensitive and selective in-situ molecular detection, and the design strategy combing 3D GF and active materials with well-defined surface properties holds great promise for the development of advanced next generation 3D devices for biomedical applications.

Acidity/Reducibility Dual-Responsive Hollow Mesoporous Organosilica Nanoplatforms for Tumor-Specific Self-Assembly and Synergistic Therapy.

Featured with a large surface area, uniform interpenetrating mesopores, diverse organic framework hybridization, and well-defined surface properties, the hollow mesoporous organosilica nanoparticle (HMON) represents a promising paradigm in drug delivery systems with excellent biocompatibility. However, effective tumor accumulation and precise cancer theranostics of the HMON still remain a challenge. In this study, an "ammonia-assisted hot water etching" method is applied for the successful construction of sub-50 nm thioether/phenylene dual-hybridized HMON with low hemolytic effect. Particularly, the surface modification with Mo(VI)-based polyoxometalate (POM) clusters drives the self-assembly of HMON in the mild acidic tumor microenvironment (TME) to achieve enhanced tumor retention and accumulation. More importantly, the reducibility-activated Mo(VI)-to-Mo(V) conversion within POM not only endows the POM-anchored HMON with outstanding TME-responsive photoacoustic (PA) imaging contrast and photothermal therapy (PTT) performance but also plays an indispensable role in controllably triggering the decomposition of the Mn2(CO)10 payload for CO release, which gives rise to remarkable synergistic PTT-enhanced CO gas therapy for complete tumor eradication. By harnessing the unique acidic and redox properties of TME, the judiciously designed smart POM-anchored HMON nanoplatform is expected to act as a "magic bomb" to selectively destroy cancer without damaging normal tissues. This nanoplatform holds significant potential in realizing TME-responsive self-assembly for enhanced tumor accumulation and precise tumor-specific synergistic therapy, which is very promising for clinical translation.

Engineered polyester-PEG nanoparticles prepared through a “grafting through” strategy and post-functionalization via Michael type addition

Free radical polymerization (FRP) is widely used in industrial processes as an efficient and versatile method to engineer polymeric nanoparticles (PNPs) of controlled size, narrowly distributed, and of well-defined surface properties. Functional Poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and poly(lactic acid) (PLA) can be utilized as macromonomers in FRP in combination with a co-polymerizable poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), to achieve aqueous dispersions of PNPs composed of a hydrophobic polyester core and a hydrophilic PEG shell of tuneable size. For several industrial and biological applications, PNPs also need surface functionalization to provide specific physicochemical characteristics, including stimuli-responsiveness, and bioactivity.In this work, a flexible “grafting through” strategy based on Ring opening polymerization (ROP) and FRP was proposed to obtain engineered polyester-PEG nanoparticles functionalized with acrylate groups on the hydrophilic shell. The presence of acrylates allows a versatile surface functionalization through Michael-type addition with a thiolated ligand (peptide), in aqueous solution under physiological pH, with the advantage of high conversion and absence of reaction side products. A cysteine-containing cyclic RGD was used as model peptide for conjugation, due to its potential application as ligand for endothelial cells. Results indicated that active cell targeting can be achieved by using this surface functionalization approach.

Two-Level Shape Changes of Polymeric Microcuboids Prepared from Crystallizable Copolymer Networks

Polymeric microdevices bearing features like nonspherical shapes or spatially segregated surface properties are of increasing importance in biological and medical analysis, drug delivery, and bioimaging or microfluidic systems as well as in micromechanics, sensors, information storage, or data carrier devices. Here, a method to fabricate programmable microcuboids with shape-memory capability and the quantification of their recovery at different levels is reported. The method uses the soft lithographic technique to create microcuboids with well-defined sizes and surface properties. Microcuboids having an edge length of 25 μm and a height of 10 μm were prepared from cross-linked poly[ethylene-co-(vinyl acetate)] (cPEVA) with different vinyl acetate contents and were programmed by compression with various deformation degrees at elevated temperatures. The microlevel shape-recovery of the cuboidal geometry during heating was monitored by optical microscopy (OM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) studying the re...

Development of self-healing coatings for corrosion protection on metallic structures

Inspired by biological systems, artificial self-healing materials are designed for repairing local damage caused by external factors. The rapidly expanding field of self-healing systems contains, among others, materials with well-defined surface properties. Undoubtedly, enhancing surface functionalisation, by applying smart coatings, enjoys an extensive interest. The self-healing ability is particularly essential property for corrosion protection strategies, especially when the use of one of the most effective corrosion systems, based on chromium(VI) compounds, is now banned by the current registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals legislation. Self-healing protective coatings are produced using macromolecular compounds, ceramics, metals and composites. Considering the wide range of available materials, the number of potential combinations seems to be unlimited. The self-healing action of such coatings is activated by appropriate stimuli: temperature changes, radiation, pH changes, pressure changes and mechanical action. In this paper, the research and practical implications of the various approaches to achieving self-healing functionality of protective coatings, as well as potential developments in this area, are explored.

PH-controlled desorption of silver nanoparticles from monolayers deposited on PAH-covered mica

Although the release of silver nanoparticles from various surfaces and coatings plays an important role in many practical applications, the mechanisms of these processes are not fully understood. Therefore, in this work, the charge-stabilized silver particles of well-defined surface properties, with average sizes of 15, 28, and 54 nm, were used to quantitatively study this problem. The silver nanoparticles were obtained by the chemical reduction method using trisodium citrate as the stabilizing agent. Their size distributions and stabilities were determined using dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy. The electrophoretic mobility and zeta potential of nanoparticles were determined for controlled ionic strength as a function of pH. The monolayers were produced on poly(allylamine hydrochloride)-modified mica under diffusion-controlled conditions. The coverage was determined by a direct enumeration of deposited nanoparticles using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Using these well-defined monolayers, the kinetics of the release of nanoparticles was studied under controlled ionic strength and various pH values. The direct AFM and SEM measurements of the monolayer coverage, as a function of desorption time, allowed one to determine the kinetics of the release process. The equilibrium adsorption constant and the binding energy of particles were also determined using the random sequential adsorption model. The experimental results indicated that the release rate of particles is the fastest at lower pH values and for smaller particle sizes. This is confirmed by the binding energy values that at pH 3.5 varied between −15.9 and −18.1 kT for particles of the sizes 15 and 54 nm, respectively. These results were quantitatively interpreted in terms of the ion-pair concept where it was assumed that the binding energy between nanoparticles and the substrate was controlled by electrostatic interactions. Based on the conducted studies, one can conclude that the rate of nanoparticle release can be tuned by changing the pH values.

Dynamic wetting: status and prospective of single particle based experiments and simulations

The fundamental molecular and microscopic properties of materials leading to dynamic wetting and relaxation effects have been subject to numerous studies in the past decades, but a thorough understanding is still missing. While most previous experiments utilize fluids deposited on planar substrates, this article focuses on an attractive alternative based on single colloidal particles: colloidal particles have the ability to strongly interact with fluid-fluid interfaces and the behavior strongly depends on the surface properties of the particles and the fluids used. Recent progress in the manipulation and synthesis of colloidal particles with well-defined surface properties and shapes makes them ideal candidates to probe the fundamental surface properties leading to dynamic wetting effects. In this paper we review and discuss the status of experimental and numerical techniques to characterize the dynamic wetting of single particles at fluid-fluid interfaces, with the aim to assist scientists and engineers in the design of new experimental techniques and particle-based (bio)analytical tools.

Impact of structural differences in hyperbranched polyglycerol–polyethylene glycol nanoparticles on dermal drug delivery and biocompatibility

Polyglycerol scaffolds and nanoparticles emerged as prominent material for various biomedical applications including topical drug delivery. The impact of slight structural modifications on the nanoparticles’ properties, drug delivery potential, and biocompatibility, however, is still not fully understood.Hence, we explored the influence of structural modifications of five structurally related polyglycerol-based nanoparticles (PG–PEG, SK1–SK5) on dermal drug delivery efficiency and biocompatibility. The PG–PEG particles were synthesized via randomly and controlled alkylated chemo-enzymatic approaches resulting in significantly varying particle sizes and interactions with guest molecules. Furthermore, we observed considerably improved dermal drug delivery with the smallest particles SK4 and SK5 (11nm and 14nm) which also correlated with well-defined surface properties achieved by the controlled alkylated synthesis approach. The consistently good biocompatibility for all PG–PEG particles was mainly attributed to the neutral surface charge. No irritation potential, major cytotoxicity or genotoxicity was observed. Nevertheless, slightly better biocompatibility was again seen for the particles characterized by alkyl chain substitution in the core and not on the particle surface.Despite the high structural similarity of the PG–PEG particles, the synthesis and the functionalization significantly influenced particle properties, biocompatibility, and most significantly the drug delivery efficiency.

A Review on Application of Multifunctional Mesoporous Nanoparticles in Controlled Release of Drug Delivery

In the early 1990s the discovery of the MCM-41 and the M41S family of mesoporous materials had open new era in the chemistry and biology. They have prominent application inbiotechnological, biomedical and heterogeneous catalysts. Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) exhibit unique structural features like as their large surface areas, tunable pore sizes in nanometer and well-defined surface properties. MSN materials which are comprised of a honeycomb-like porous structure with hundreds of empty mesoporous channel that are able to encapsulate relatively large amounts of biomolecules. They are ideal candidate for constructing multifunctional materials that encapsulate a variety of functional nanostructured materials. Multifunctional MSN materials have become one of the most attractive areas in nanobiotechnology and nanomedicine for various disease diagnosis and therapy. Multifunctional MSN have been successfully developed as a multifunctional platform to deliver therapeutic and diagnostic agents. Multifunctional MSNs are a highly promising platform for intracellular controlled release of drugs. In this review we discuss the recent developments in design and fabrication of multifunctional mesoporous silica nanoparticles in as efficient drug delivery applications such as the site-specific delivery and intracellular controlled release of drugs.Abbreviations;APTES; 3-aminopropyl triethoxy sialne, ATP; Adenosine triphospahate, CD; cyclodextrinCPT; camptothecin, CS; Chitosan,CTAB; cyltrimethylammonium bromide,DNA; Deoxyribonucleic acid,DOX; doxorubicin,EDC; 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide,FD; fluorescein disodium,FSP;Fluroscent particle ,IBU;ibuprofen,MCM; mobil composition material, MPS; 3-trimethoxylsilyl propyl methacrylate, MS; mesoporous silica,MSN; mesoporous silica nanoparticle, MSNs; mesoporous silica nanoparticles,MSNP; mesoporous silica nanoparticle,NPS; nanoparticles;PFDTES;perfluorodecyltriethoxysilane, PAA; polyacrylic acid,PR;photo responsive,PMAA; polymethyl methacrylate,SBF; simulated body fluid,TEOS;tetraethyl orthosilicate,TUNA;Thio undecyl-tetraethyleneglycoestero-nitrobenzylethyldimethyl ammonium bromide.

Photoluminescent carbon dots directly derived from polyethylene glycol and their application for cellular imaging

Photoluminescent carbon dots (C-dots) were prepared directly by a simple hydrothermal treatment using polyethylene glycol with different molar weight (400–6000gmol−1) as the sole carbon source. The synthesized C-dots with tunable diameters of 2–4nm exhibit excitation-dependent photoluminescent behavior. In contrast to previous methods, neither strong acid treatment nor further surface modification is necessary for this one-step process. The C-dots with well-defined surface chemistry and properties were well-dispersed in aqueous media and showed high photostability indicating they are suitable for use in different pH and NaCl aqueous solutions. The C-dots possessed low cytotoxicity, good photostability and can enter the cancer cells, making them suitable candidates for two-photon cellular imaging and labelling.

A versatile strategy to the selective synthesis of Cu nanocrystals and the in situ conversion to CuRu nanotubes

Compared with Ag, Au, Pt and Pd, the synthesis of Cu nanocrystals that exhibit well-defined structures and surface properties has achieved limited success. Herein, we report an etching and protecting strategy to prepare Cu nanostructures with controllable shapes, crystalline nature and surface properties. In the developed strategy, the selective use of different additives is critical to the successful synthesis of the Cu nanocrystals: while NH4Cl (or hexadecyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC)) functions as an etchant by a Cl(-)-O2 pair that can selectively remove twinned nuclei and induce the formation of single nanocrystals with a cubic morphology, the addition of RuCl3 (or FeCl3, FeCl2) can protect the multiply twinned seeds from being etched, and leads to the formation of 5-fold twined nanowires. The controlling strategy reported herein is highlighted by its simplicity and versatility. By further increasing the reaction temperature and prolonging the reaction time, bimetallic CuRu nanotubes can be readily prepared. The applications of these well-defined nanostructures and the developed strategy in controlling other metals are currently under investigation.

Controlling Self-Assembly of Engineered Peptides on Graphite by Rational Mutation

Self-assembly of proteins on surfaces is utilized in many fields to integrate intricate biological structures and diverse functions with engineered materials. Controlling proteins at bio-solid interfaces relies on establishing key correlations between their primary sequences and resulting spatial organizations on substrates. Protein self-assembly, however, remains an engineering challenge. As a novel approach, we demonstrate here that short dodecapeptides selected by phage display are capable of self-assembly on graphite and form long-range-ordered biomolecular nanostructures. Using atomic force microscopy and contact angle studies, we identify three amino acid domains along the primary sequence that steer peptide ordering and lead to nanostructures with uniformly displayed residues. The peptides are further engineered via simple mutations to control fundamental interfacial processes, including initial binding, surface aggregation and growth kinetics, and intermolecular interactions. Tailoring short peptides via their primary sequence offers versatile control over molecular self-assembly, resulting in well-defined surface properties essential in building engineered, chemically rich, bio-solid interfaces.

Multifunctional Mesoporous Silica Nanocomposite Nanoparticles for Theranostic Applications

Clever combinations of different types of functional nanostructured materials will enable the development of multifunctional nanomedical platforms for multimodal imaging or simultaneous diagnosis and therapy. Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) possess unique structural features such as their large surface areas, tunable nanometer-scale pore sizes, and well-defined surface properties. Therefore, they are ideal platforms for constructing multifunctional materials that incorporate a variety of functional nanostructured materials. In this Account, we discuss recent progress by our group and other researchers in the design and fabrication of multifunctional nanocomposite nanoparticles based on mesoporous silica nanostructures for applications to simultaneous diagnosis and therapy. Versatile mesoporous silica-based nanocomposite nanoparticles were fabricated using various methods. Here, we highlight two synthetic approaches: the encapsulation of functional nanoparticles within a mesoporous silica shell and the assembly of nanoparticles on the surface of silica nanostructures. Various nanoparticles were encapsulated in MSNs using surfactants as both phase transfer agents and pore-generating templates. Using MSNs as a scaffold, functional components such as magnetic nanoparticles and fluorescent dyes have been integrated within these systems to generate multifunctional nanocomposite systems that maintain their individual functional characteristics. For example, uniform mesoporous dye-doped silica nanoparticles immobilized with multiple magnetite nanocrystals on their surfaces have been fabricated for their use as a vehicle capable of simultaneous magnetic resonance (MR) and fluorescence imaging and drug delivery. The resulting nanoparticle-incorporated MSNs were then tested in mice with tumors. These in vivo experiments revealed that these multifunctional nanocomposite nanoparticles were delivered to the tumor sites via passive targeting. These nanocomposite nanoparticles served as successful multimodal imaging probes and also delivered anticancer drugs to the tumor site. With innumerable combinations of imaging modalities and drug delivery available within these vehicles, multifunctional nanocomposite nanoparticles provide new opportunities for clinical diagnostics and therapeutics.