Room temperature synthesis of dendritic mesoporous silica nanoparticles with small sizes and enhanced mRNA delivery performance.

Dendritic mesoporous silica nanoparticles (DMSNs) with a small diameter (∼50 nm) and a large pore size (>20 nm) have been synthesized at room temperature. It is shown that the choice of room temperature synthesis favours the formation of large-pore and small-size DMSNs compared to conventional synthesis at higher temperature. Compared to mesoporous silica nanoparticles with a similar particle size but a smaller mesopore size and DMSNs with a similar pore size but a larger particle size, DMSNs with both a small particle size and a large pore size possess a higher in vitro mRNA transfection efficiency, indicating their potential as promising delivery vehicles for exogenous genetic molecules.