CPMV-induced synthesis of hollow mesoporous SiO2 nanocapsules with excellent performance in drug delivery.

Hollow mesoporous-SiO2 nanocapsules have been synthesized at room temperature using unmodified cowpea Mosaic Virus (CPMV) as a template, and without using any catalyst or surfactant during the synthesis. The average size of the capsules synthesized was ∼200-250 nm with a 60-100 nm hollow core. The resulting nanocapsules were characterized using high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM).