Preparation and cell inclusion of fluorescent folic acid-functionalized mesoporous silica microspheres potentially useful for drug targeting

A hybrid fluorescent mesoporous silica material has been prepared starting from a mesoporous silica obtained by neutral surfactants. Synthesis was carried out according to a new interfacial procedure based on a not-catalyzed tetraethylorthosilicate hydrolysis aimed to tailor the particle size of the final product. As-synthesized materials have been derivatized with aminopropyl function partially coupled with fluoresceine isothiocyianate, a fluorescent tracer. Successively folic acid, a receptor-specific ligand has been covalently coupled to free aminopropyl groups. The resulting multifunctional material has been suspended in MCF-7 and HeLa cell cultures. Confocal microscopy showed cellular internalization in both cell lines, probably due to endocytosis.