Controllable Synthesis of Calcium Silicate Nanoparticles Through One-Step Microemulsion Method for Drug and Gene Delivery

Calcium silicates (CaSi) nanoparticles were synthesized through a one-step water-in-oil microemulsion method. Herein, tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) was used as silicon source. The synthesized CaSi nanoparticles could successfully encapsulate hydrophilic drugs such as calcein and DNA. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) analyses showed that the calcein loaded calcium silicate (calcien@ CaSi) or mcDNA loaded calcium silicate (mcDNA@ CaSi) nanoparticles were monodisperse in aqueous solution, with mean sizes of 34.1 nm and 23.9 nm, respectively. After being co-incubated with 293T cells, the mcDNA@ CaSi nanoparticles could successfully be transfected into the 293T cells, and the transfected cells could express exogenous gene for at least 8 days. Moreover, there was nearly no cytotoxicity caused by the mcDNA@ CaSi to cells. In conclusion, these results may facilitate discovery of inorganic materials and their application as drug carrier systems.