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Stabilizing silica nanoparticles in hydrogels: impact on storage and polydispersity

Giovannini, Giorgia, Kunc, Filip, Piras, Carmen C., Stranik, Ondrej, Edwards, Alison A., Hall, Andrew J., Gubala, Vladimir (2017) Stabilizing silica nanoparticles in hydrogels: impact on storage and polydispersity. RSC Advances, 7 (32). pp. 19924-19933. ISSN 2046-2069. (doi:10.1039/c7ra02427d) (KAR id:61385)

Abstract

For successful nanomedicine, it is important that the unique, size-dependent physico-chemical properties of the nanomaterial remain predictably constant during both the storage and the manipulation of the material. Here a novel approach to preserve the colloidal stability and degradation of NPs is described. The concept is simple: (a) a solution of monodisperse particles is formulated into a responsive water- or PBS-based hydrogel; (b) the gel can be reversibly turned into a solution after long term storage by shaking it by hand; (c) the NP can be diluted and used in any desired application without the need for excessive manipulation. The differences between the physico-chemical properties of NPs stored in solution and in gel are compared. Two types of NPs were involved in this study: silica NPs of similar100 nm and Au-NPs of 30 and 80 nm in diameter. The key findings are: the fibrous matrix of the hydrogel limits the NP mobility{,} significantly reduces NP aggregation and conserves the NP morphology; both the hydrogelator and the NPs show negligible toxicity towards the model U937 human hematopoietic cell line; undesired leaching of cargo material loaded inside the particles is reduced{,} which could be an important feature for drug delivery systems.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1039/c7ra02427d
Subjects: Q Science
Q Science > QD Chemistry > QD473 Physical properties in relation to structure
Q Science > QD Chemistry > Analytical Chemistry
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Natural Sciences > Medway School of Pharmacy
Depositing User: Alison Edwards
Date Deposited: 19 Apr 2017 11:12 UTC
Last Modified: 04 Mar 2024 15:41 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/61385 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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