Fluorescent mesoporous hybrid materials based on GFP adsorbed into SBA-15

Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) has been confined within the pores and channels of inorganic mesoporous materials belonging to SBA-n family. The confinement of GFP into the pores/channels of mesoporous systems has some important advantages such as the protection of the bio-molecule against chemical attack, photo-bleaching and thermal decomposition. In addition, the structure of mesoporous silica offers the possibility of coupling fluorescence detection with drug delivery. An exhaustive physical chemical characterisation of the hybrid materials was performed by structural (X-Ray Diffraction, Transmission Electron Microscopy), volumetric and optical (photoluminescence spectroscopy) techniques.