Preparation and evaluation of controllable drug delivery system: A light responsive nanosphere based on β-cyclodextrin/mesoporous silica

A novel light responsive nanosphere was constructed, and it was used as a drug carrier to investigate the loading and release properties of the Quercetin (QU). In this paper, mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) were used as a substrate, and 3-aminopropyl triethyoxysilane was used as a surface modification agent to introduce —NH2, and the azobenzene-4,4′-dicarboxylic acid (AZO) was used as light responsive agent to introduce the group of —N = N—, and then β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) was combined with AZO through host–guest interaction to construct light responsive nanoparticles (MSN@β-CD). The structure and properties of the carrier were analyzed by FTIR, BET, XPS, TGA, XRD, SEM and TEM. In vitro drug release studies showed the release rate of QU@MSN@β-CD (dark) was 12.19% within 72 h, but the release rate of QU@MSN@β-CD (light 10 min) was 26.09%, exhibiting a light-responsive property. The CCK8 tests demonstrated that MSN@β-CD could significantly decrease the toxicity of QU. Therefore, the controllable light-responsive drug delivery system has great application prospects.