pH-operated hybrid silica nanoparticles with multiple H-bond stoppers for colon cancer therapy

The transport of anticancer molecules by nanoparticles has shown great promise in terms of bioavailability, concentrating drugs in the tumor area and minimizing drug side effects. Here, we report the high efficiency of pH-operated hybrid silica nanocarriers for colon cancer therapy. These silica nanoparticles carry the drugs which are tightly held by cyanuric acid as a new type of stopper. The latter can be autonomously removed upon acidic medium allowing a direct drug release inside the cancer cells. Importantly, the proof of concept was established by ex vivo experiments using primary cell cultures from patient biopsies.