Chromonic-liquid-crystal-templated synthesis of powdered and monolithic silica materials: mechanism, textural properties and drug delivery
Lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals (LCLC) enable the templating of silica fibers with aligned porous structures and tunable pore size, properties that hold significant potential for applications like controlled drug delivery. LCLC guide the synthesis of microporous and mesoporous silicas through so...
| Autores: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Formato: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2025 |
| País: | España |
| Recursos: | Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) |
| Repositorio: | DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:digital.csic.es:10261/410283 |
| Acesso em linha: | http://hdl.handle.net/10261/410283 https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/105023955115 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palavra-chave: | Sol-gel reaction Biocompatible composites Chromonic liquid crystal Drug delivery Microporous materials Nanostructured silica monoliths http://metadata.un.org/sdg/7 http://metadata.un.org/sdg/9 http://metadata.un.org/sdg/3 Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation |
| Resumo: | Lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals (LCLC) enable the templating of silica fibers with aligned porous structures and tunable pore size, properties that hold significant potential for applications like controlled drug delivery. LCLC guide the synthesis of microporous and mesoporous silicas through sol-gel reactions in the presence of silicon alkoxides, such as tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS), typically producing fibers with long, aligned pores and specific surface areas around 200–300 m<sup>2</sup>/g. Here, we develop micro/mesoporous silica materials using a cationic chromonic perylene diimide as template, combined with a porogenic silica precursor, hexadecyl trimethoxysilane (HDTMS), to achieve increased specific surface areas and larger pore sizes compared to conventional TEOS-based chromonic-templated silicas. The resulting silica materials can be fabricated as macroscopic, centimeter-sized monoliths with tunable porosity, composed of entangled silica nanofibers forming a networked structure. These highly porous monoliths were evaluated as carriers of small drugs (ibuprofen), and demonstrated high encapsulation efficiencies, as well as sustained drug release in a simulated body fluid (SBF, pH = 7.4), achieving complete release within 24 h. In contrast, powdered silica samples of the same composition showed poorer encapsulation efficiencies and faster release rates, highlighting the advantages of monolithic structures for drug delivery. Furthermore, hydroxyapatite (HAp) was deposited onto the silica monoliths to produce robust composite scaffolds, whose degradation products did not affect HEK293 cell viability. |
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