Artem Klotschan

Bachelor student

Modified SBA-15 mesoporous silica nanorods for biomedical applications

 

Supervisors: Dr. Zulema Vargas, Prof. Dr. Aldo R. Boccaccini

In recent years silica-based mesoporous materials have attracted much attention for their highly porous structure, large surface area, narrow pore size distribution, among other characteristics. Their properties are highly dependent on the synthesis conditions and parameters, which allow modifying the particle features such as size and shape. These materials have a wide range of applications in different fields, particularly for biomedicine, where they can be applied in drug delivery, bone tissue engineering, biocatalysis and biosensors.

The aim of this thesis is to synthesize a variety of rod-shaped SBA-15 mesoporous silica particles, using different ratios and concentrations of a mixture of hydrochloric and phosphoric acid in presence of a co-solvent [1]. In addition, the aim includes obtaining reactive surfaces by keeping the highest amount of silanol groups as possible, avoiding calcination. The particles will be characterised in terms of bioactivity.

[1] Z. Vargas-Osorio, et al., Multifunctional Superparamagnetic Stiff Nanoreservoirs for Blood Brain Barrier Applications. Nanomaterials (Basel). 2019; 9(3): 449. 10.3390/nano9030449