Uniform Mesoporous Dye-Doped Silica Nanoparticles as a Multifunctional Drug Carrier for in vivo early tumor diagnosis

In this report, we synthesized multifunctional dye-doped mesoporous silica nanoparticles(MSNs) by encapsulating near-infrared dyes into the nanoparticles. In order to enhance the targeting property, the surface was modified with amino group for further conjugation of targeted ligands. In addition, we explored the influence of the synthetic temperature on the particle morphology. The optical properties, morphology and structure of the as-prepared dye-doped silica nanoparticles were characterized. Results indicated the dye-doped silica nanoparticles can be used as a good probe for early tumor diagnosis and have the potential to serve as a targeted carrier for antitumor drugs.