Publications by authors named "Sofia Dominguez-Gil"

Engineering the spatial organisation of organotypic cultures is pivotal for refining tissue models that are useful for gaining deeper insights into complex, non-cell autonomous processes. These advanced models are key to improving the understanding of fundamental biological mechanisms and therapeutic strategies. Controlling gene regulation through spatially-resolved delivery of nucleic acids provides an attractive approach to produce such tissue models.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The concept of using two-photon excitation in the NIR for the spatiotemporal control of biological processes holds great promise. However, its use for the delivery of nucleic acids has been very scarcely described and the reported procedures are not optimal as they often involve potentially toxic materials and irradiation conditions. This work prepares a simple system made of biocompatible porous silicon nanoparticles (pSiNP) for the safe siRNA photocontrolled delivery and gene silencing in cells upon two-photon excitation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Bridged silsesquioxane nanoparticles (BSNs) recently described represent a new class of nanoparticles exhibiting versatile applications and particularly a strong potential for nanomedicine.

Aims: In this work, we describe the synthesis of BSNs from an octasilylated functional porphyrin precursor (PORBSNs) efficiently obtained through a click reaction. These innovative and very small-sized nanoparticles were functionalized with PEG and mannose (PORBSNs-mannose) in order to target breast tumors in vivo.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Porphyrin-based periodic mesoporous organosilica nanoparticles (PMO) synthesized from a large functional octatriethoxysilylated porphyrin precursor and allowing two-photon excitation photodynamic therapy (TPE-PDT) and NIR imaging were synthesized. These PMO were grafted with polyethylene glycol (PEG) moieties and an analogue of mannose 6-phosphate functionalized at the anomeric position (AMFA). AMFAs are known to efficiently target mannose 6-phosphate receptors (M6PRs) which are over-expressed in various cancers.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Mesoporous organosilica nanoparticles (PHT-PMO) have been prepared from an octa-triethoxysilylated Zn phthalocyanine precursor. These PHT-PMO nanoparticles had no dark toxicity but high phototoxicity when irradiated at 650 nm, and remarkable near-infrared phototoxicity when excited at 760 and 810 nm. The PHT-PMO were then aminated to promote electrostatic complexation with siRNA.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF