Facile one-pot synthesis and drug storage/release properties of hollow micro/mesoporous organosilica nanospheres

Novel hollow micro/mesoporous organosilica nanospheres (HMOSNs) of uniform diameter and shell thickness of about 90 nm and 15 nm, respectively, and with wormlike micro/mesoporous shell full of uramido groups, have been successfully fabricated by a facile one-pot route. The micro/mesoporosity of the synthesized HMOSNs has been characterized by small-angle and wide-angle X-ray diffraction (XRD), scan electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and nitrogen adsorption-desorption measurements. The drug storage and release properties of the synthetic HMOSNs are measured by using ibuprofen (IBU) as a model drug, and a high drug storage capacity of 531 mg IBU per gram HMOSNs and a steady drug release behavior are exhibited.