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Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) are promising drug carriers for use in cancer treatment owing to their excellent biocompatibility and drug‐loading capacity. However, MSN's incomplete drug release and toxic bioaccumulation phenomena limit their clinical application. Recently, researchers have presented redox responsive mesoporous organosilica nanoparticles containing disulfide (S–S) bridges (ss‐MONs). These nanoparticles retained their ability to undergo structural degradation and increased their local release activity when exposed to reducing agents. Disulfide‐based mesoporous organosilica nanoparticles offer researchers a better option for loading chemotherapeutic drugs due to their effective biodegradability through the reduction of glutathione. Although the potential of ss‐MONs in cancer theranostics has been studied, few researchers have systematically compared ss‐MONs with MSNs with regard to endocytosis, drug release, cytotoxicity, and therapeutic effect. In this work, ss‐MONs and MSNs with equal morphology and size were designed and used to payload doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) for liver cancer chemotherapy. The ss‐MONs showed considerable degradability in the presence of glutathione and performed comparably to MSNs on biocompatibility measures, including cytotoxicity and endocytosis, as well as in drug‐loading capacity. Notably, DOX‐loaded ss‐MONs exhibited higher intracellular drug release in cancer cells and better anticancer effects in comparison with DOX‐loaded MSNs. Hence, the ss‐MONs may be more desirable carriers for a highly efficient and safe treatment of cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Berberine, an bioactive isoquinolin alkaloid from traditional Chinese herbs, is considered to be a promising agent based on its remarkable activity against hepatocellular carcinoma. However, the clinical application of this nature compound had been hampered owing to its properties such as poor aqueous solubility, low gastrointestinal absorption, and reduced bioavailability. Therefore, we developed Janus magnetic mesoporous silica nanoparticles (Fe3O4- mSiO2 NPs) consisting of a Fe3O4 head for magnetic targeting and a mesoporous SiO2 body for berberine delivery. A pH-sensitive group was introduced on the surface of mesoporous silica for berberine loading to develop a tumor microenvironment-responsive nanocarrier, which exhibited uniform morphology, good superparamagnetic properties, high drug-loading amounts, superior endocytic ability, and low cytotoxicity. Berberine-loaded Fe3O4- mSiO2 NPs exerted extraordinarily high specificity for hepatocellular carcinoma cells, which was due to the pH-responsive berberine release, as well as higher endocytosis capacity in hepatocellular carcinoma cells rather than normal liver cells. More importantly, an external magnetic field could significantly improve antitumor activity of Ber-loaded Fe3O4- mSiO2 NPs through enhancing berberine internalization. Taken together, our results suggest that Janus nanocarriers driven by the magnetic field may provide an effective and safe way to facilitate clinical use of berberine against hepatocellular carcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The facile synthesis of core-shell magnetic mesoporous silica nanoparticles (Fe3O4@mSiO2 NPs) was reported in aqueous phase using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide as a template under alcohol-free conditions. Compared to the conventional synthesis method for core-shell Fe3O4@mSiO2 NPs, the approach in this study is rapid (only 5-min reaction time), cheap (without using organic agents), and environmentally friendly (one-step synthesis in alcohol-free medium). Doxorubicin (DOX)-loaded Fe3O4@mSiO2 NPs exert extraordinarily high specificity for liver cancer cells, which was due to the pH-sensitive doxorubicin release, as well as higher endocytosis capacity in liver cancer cells rather than normal liver cells. The potential advantages of using such Fe3O4@mSiO2 NPs as the vehicle of anticancer drugs were that the Fe3O4@mSiO2 NPs exhibit good biocompatibility, high loading and protection of the guest molecules, selective killing effect, and efficient cellular uptake. The exciting pH-dependent release properties of doxorubicin-loaded Fe3O4@mSiO2 NPs make their use a promising strategy for enhancing efficient therapy toward tumors, while reducing the cytotoxicity of doxorubicin to human normal neutral tissue or cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]