Thermoresponsive Polymer Grafted Porous Silicas as Smart Nanocarriers

Porous silica particles grafted with various stimuli-responsive polymers are investigated with great interest for their use as smart pharmaceutical nanocarriers in advanced drug delivery systems (DDS). In particular, porous silica particles grafted with thermoresponsive polymers that exhibit thermally triggered on/off gating mechanisms have shown improved performance as hybrid DDS capable of controlling the release of different drugs in various mediums which resemble complex biological environments. In addition, the tuning of the drug release profiles as per requirements has proved possible with modifications to the porous core and the grafted thermoresponsive polymers. This highlight presents a brief discussion of basic preparation techniques and some recent significant developments in the field of thermoresponsive polymer grafted porous silica particles as smart pharmaceutical nanocarriers.