Terracciano Monica, De Stefano Luca, Rea Ilaria
Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems, Via P. Castellino 111, 80131 Naples, Italy.
Materias S.r.l., Corso N. Protopisani 50, 80146 Naples, Italy.
Pharmaceutics. 2018 Nov 20;10(4):242. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics10040242.
Diatom microalgae are the most outstanding natural source of porous silica. The diatom cell is enclosed in a three-dimensional (3-D) ordered nanopatterned silica cell wall, called frustule. The unique properties of the diatom frustule, including high specific surface area, thermal stability, biocompatibility, and tailorable surface chemistry, make diatoms really promising for biomedical applications. Moreover, they are easy to cultivate in an artificial environment and there is a large availability of diatom frustules as fossil material (diatomite) in several areas of the world. For all these reasons, diatoms are an intriguing alternative to synthetic materials for the development of low-cost drug delivery systems. This review article focuses on the possible use of diatom-derived silica as drug carrier systems. The functionalization strategies of diatom micro/nanoparticles for improving their biophysical properties, such as cellular internalization and drug loading/release kinetics, are described. In addition, the realization of hybrid diatom-based devices with advanced properties for theranostics and targeted or augmented drug delivery applications is also discussed.
硅藻微藻是多孔二氧化硅最突出的天然来源。硅藻细胞被包裹在一个三维（3-D）有序纳米图案化的硅细胞壁中，称为硅藻壳。硅藻壳的独特性质，包括高比表面积、热稳定性、生物相容性和可定制的表面化学性质，使得硅藻在生物医学应用中极具前景。此外，它们易于在人工环境中培养，并且在世界上几个地区作为化石材料（硅藻土）有大量的硅藻壳可用。由于所有这些原因，硅藻是开发低成本药物递送系统的合成材料的一种有趣替代品。这篇综述文章重点关注硅藻衍生的二氧化硅作为药物载体系统的可能用途。描述了硅藻微/纳米颗粒用于改善其生物物理性质（如细胞内化和药物负载/释放动力学）的功能化策略。此外，还讨论了具有先进性质的基于硅藻的混合装置在治疗诊断和靶向或增强药物递送应用中的实现。
