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SILICON PARTICLES TARGETING TUMOR CELLS
US2017189550
A silicon particle comprising a silicon body, a functionalized silica surface surrounding the silicon body, and a targeting moiety specifically targeting tumor cells, and, optionally, an enzymatically metabolizable compound, is useful in the treatment of cancer by producing cell death after particle internalization.
The present invention shows the specific targeting of cancer cells in vitro. The conceptual advantage of this system is that after reaction, the particles are degraded to soluble and excretable biocomponents.
The authors of the present invention have developed silicon particles with therapeutic applications based on their capacity to specific target cells, such as tumor cells. The silicon particles are generated in a manner such that their exposition to atmospheric oxygen generates a thin layer of silica (SIO2). The silica layer protects the silicon (Si) body acting as a protective shell and also providing an easily functionalizable surface to couple an organic layer that protects silica from dissolution in physiological media. Additionally, the protective shell may be easily degradable by the enzymatic machinery of a cell.