Feasibility Study of the Permeability and Uptake of Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles across the Blood-Brain Barrier.

Drug delivery into the brain is impeded by the blood-brain-barrier (BBB) that filters out the vast majority of drugs after systemic administration. In this work, we assessed the transport, uptake and cytotoxicity of promising drug nanocarriers, mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs), in in vitro models of the BBB. RBE4 rat brain endothelial cells and Madin-Darby canine kidney epithelial cells, strain II, were used as BBB models.

Rational evaluation of the utilization of PEG-PEI copolymers for the facilitation of silica nanoparticulate systems in biomedical applications.

Hypothesis: Polymer constructs are often applied in nanoparticulate systems to expand their applicability. One such common macromolecular modifier is poly(ethylene imine) - poly(ethylene glycol) copolymers. Despite their quite widespread use, and considering that interaction and stabilization mechanisms when combining a polyelectrolyte with a non-charged polymer are not trivial to pinpoint, these systems are generally poorly characterized in literature.

Intracellular degradation of multilabeled poly(ethylene imine)-mesoporous silica-silica nanoparticles: implications for drug release.

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles, MSNs, have emerged as an interesting carrier for drugs in vitro and in vivo. The particles are typically used in a surface functionalized form, where functional silanes or other covalently linked surface functions are used to provide anchoring sites for additional functionalities like targeting groups, imaging agents, and drugs. Here, we report results related to extra- and intracellular degradation of silica nanoparticles using multilabeled nonporous silica core-mesoporous silica shell-surface hyperbranched poly(ethylene imine) shell nanoparticles as model particles.

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles as drug delivery systems for targeted inhibition of Notch signaling in cancer.

Notch signaling, a key regulator of stem cells, is frequently overactivated in cancer. It is often linked to aggressive forms of cancer, evading standard treatment highlighting Notch as an exciting therapeutic target. Notch is in principle "druggable" by γ-secretase inhibitors (GSIs), inhibitory peptides and antibodies, but clinical use of Notch inhibitors is restricted by severe side effects and there is a demand for alternative cancer-targeted therapy.