Table 4.
Common chemical constituents used in the synthesis of MSN.
| Substrate | Function | References |
|---|---|---|
| N-dodecanoyl-β-alanine | Surfactant with an amino acid residue | 73 |
| Self-assemble into fibrils in aqueous solution | ||
| Tween-80 | Surfactant | 62 |
| CTAB | Surfactant | 63,98 |
| Increase water solubility of hydrophobic ligand | ||
| Structure-directing agent | ||
| PEO | Detergent and phase separation | 62,95 |
| Induce hydration | ||
| PEO/sol ratio regulates pore size | ||
| Poly ethylene glycol | Improve biocompatibility | 73 |
| Improve functional characteristics of silica matrix | ||
| Poly vinyl alcohol | Settle gel down in THEOS-containing solution | 73 |
| Hydrogen fluoride | Catalyst | 96,97 |
| Sodium hydroxide | Catalyst | 67 |
| Hydrogen chloride | Catalyst | 67, 70,96 |
| Ammonium nitrate | Surfactant removal | 63 |
| Trihydroxysilylpropyl methylphosphate | Surface agents | 63 |
| Prevent inter-place aggregation | ||
| Methanol | Solvent in TMOS | 67,97 |
| Remove surfactant | ||
| Ethanol | Solvent in TEOS | 97 |
| Hexane | Solvent | 66 |
| Water | Solvent | 66 |
| Non-ionic triblock copolymer | Structure-directing agent | 66 |
CTAB: N-cetyltrimethylammonium bromide; PEO: polyethylene oxide; MSN: mesoporous silica nanoparticle; TEOS: tetraethyl orthosilicate; TMOS: tetramethoxysilane; THEOS: tetrakis (2-hydroxyethyl) orthosilicate.