pH-sensitive poly(glutamic acid) grafted mesoporous silica nanoparticles for drug delivery

pH-sensitive poly(l-glutamic acid) grafted mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN-PLGA) were prepared by the surface-initiated N-carboxyanhydride polymerization method. The resultant MSN-PLGA was well dispersed in aqueous medium and showed high drug loading efficiency, superior stability, and significantly higher drug release rates. The cumulative release of doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) from DOX-loaded MSN-PLGA (DOX@MSN-PLGA) was pH-dependent and the release rate was much higher at pH 5.5 than that at pH 7.4. The cytotoxicity results indicated that the blank MSN-PLGA was biocompatible and the DOX@MSN-PLGA had potent in vitro cytotoxicity effect similar to free DOX. Overall, these results demonstrate that MSN-PLGA is a promising platform to build pH controlled drug delivery systems for cancer therapy.