Recent advances in mesoporous silica nanoparticles for antitumor therapy: our contribution

RESEARCHER ID M-3378-2014 (María Vallet Regí) ORCID 0000-0002-6104-4889 (María Vallet Regí) RESEARCHER ID M-3316-2014 (Alejandro Baeza García) ORCID 0000-0002-8408-3389 (Alejandro Baeza García) RESEARCHER ID K-3719-2014 (Miguel Manzano García) RESEARCHER ID M-3378-2014 (Miguel Manzano García) ORCID 0000-0001-6238-6111 (Miguel Manzano García)
Since 2001, when our research group proposed for the first time MCM-41 as a drug release system, the scientific community has demonstrated a growing interest in mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) for their revolutionary potential in nanomedicine. Among the diverse pathologies that can be treated with MSNs, cancer has received increasing attention. MSNs can be loaded with large amounts of therapeutic cargoes and once intravenously administrated preferentially accumulate in solid tumours via the enhanced permeation and retention (EPR) effect. Herein we report the recent developments achieved by our research group as a pioneer in this field, highlighting: the design of sophisticated MSNs as stimuli-responsive drug delivery systems to release the entrapped cargo upon exposure to a given stimulus while preventing the premature release of highly cytotoxic drugs before reaching the target; transporting non-toxic prodrugs and the enzyme responsible for its conversion into cytotoxic agents into the same MSNs; improving the selectivity and cellular uptake by cancer cells by active targeting of MSNs; increasing the penetration of MSNs within the tumour mass, which is one of the major challenges in the use of NPs to treat solid tumours.
Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (MINECO)
Agening Network of Excellence
Depto. de Química en Ciencias Farmacéuticas
Fac. de Farmacia
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