Dissolution control and stability improvement of silica nanoparticles in aqueous media

Silica nanoparticles have become an important tool in material sciences, nanomedicine, biotechnology, and pharmaceutics, with recent suggested applications also in environmental sciences. In life and environmental sciences, the application field is usually aqueous media; however, the crucial issue of silica nanoparticle dissolution behavior and rate in the target medium is often neglected, overlooked, or taken for granted. Silica nanoparticles are not stable in aqueous solutions until equilibrium silica concentrations are reached. While for life science applications, the degradability of silica nanoparticles is prerequisite for biocompatibility, this characteristic impedes the successful application of silica nanoparticles as environmental tracer, where long-term stability is needed. In this study, the impact of external (temperature, pH values, salinity, availability of silica) and internal (degree of condensation, size, porosity) parameters on the stability of ~ 45-nm-sized silica nanoparticles is characterized. Results show that external factors such as elevated temperature and alkaline pH-values accelerate the dissolution, acidic pH, high salinities, and high initial silica concentrations exhibit a contrary effect. Consequently, in applications, where external parameters cannot be controlled (e.g., in vivo, subsurface reservoirs), dissolution control and stability improvement of silica nanoparticles can be achieved by various means, such as adding a protective layer or by condensation of the silanol bonds through calcination. Graphical abstract