Fluorescent mesoporous silica nanomaterials for targeted tumor chemotherapy

•A new type of mesoporous silica nanomaterial (PTX-YMSN) is prepared for the effective suppression of tumor.•PTX-YMSN shows good biocompatibility and can be easily prepared.•Folic acid (FA) modified PTX-YMSN shows good cancer cell targeting property.•PTX-YMSN modified with fluorescence probe Y580 offers a facile way to image the material entering into cancer cells.•PTX-YMSN releases PTX in the tumor microenvironment. Mesoporous silica nanoparticles are considered as ideal carriers for the development of drug delivery systems (DDS) because of their specific features such as low biological toxicity, easy surface modification, high loading efficiency, sustainable release of anti-cancer drugs and easy fabrication. In this work, novel mesoporous silica nanoparticles with fluorescent and tumor targeting functions (YMSN-FA) were successfully synthesized by grafting perylene imide derivatives (Y580) and folic acid (FA) onto the surface of the silica nanoparticles. Subsequently, the nanoparticles were loaded with paclitaxel (PTX) to fabricate smart composite materials (PTX-YMSN) with targeted chemotherapy and tumor imaging functionalities. Imaging and therapeutic results of PTX-YMSN towards Hela cells demonstrate potential applicability of PTX-YMSN. This study combines the unique advantages of drug delivery nanosystem and organic fluorophore to provide a new and effective strategy for the treatment of tumor.