Nanoporous silicon nanoparticles for drug delivery applications

M. Perrone Donnorso*, E. Miele, F. De Angelis, R. La Rocca, T. Limongi, F. Cella Zanacchi, S. Marras, R. Brescia, E. Di Fabrizio

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

16 Scopus citations

Abstract

Nanoparticles can be composed of many different types of material, however in order to be considered as suitable candidates for drug delivery purpose, they need to follow a precise tailored biological behavior. Here we propose nanoporous silicon nanoparticles as optimal nanocarriers with tunable physicochemical properties, and we present a simple few-step fabrication process and an accurate description of nanoparticles considerable features. The performed measurements show that proposed water soluble nanoparticles have excellent loading capacity with no chemical modification on the adsorbed drug. Furthermore, they can degrade releasing the carried drug in a reasonable period of time producing non toxic substances, and show photoluminescent and Raman scattering properties that are useful tools for monitoring them. Raman analyses indicate that nanoporous silicon nanoparticles are distinguished from bulk silicon by a Raman shift to low frequencies and that annealing processes at 260 °C allows to maintain intact the crystalline structure, while complete disappearance appears for annealing at 700 °C. In this way Raman spectroscopy is a useful technique to follow the changes in composition of the nanoparticles after treatments.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)626-629
Number of pages4
JournalMicroelectronic Engineering
Volume98
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2012
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Drug delivery
  • Electrochemical etching
  • Nanoparticles
  • Nanoporous silicon

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
  • Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Surfaces, Coatings and Films
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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