Research Article
M.T.Stamm, Z.Zha, L.Jiang,
Abstract
Ceramic nanoparticles and silica microparticles are functionalized with antibodies on their surfaces that act as targeting ligands. For the ceramic liposomal nanoparticles, cerasomes, this is achieved by using the siloxane network present on the cerasome surface as the foundation for chemical treatment processes previously developed for silicon surfaces. The bio-functionality and physical integrity of the cerasomes are characterized, demonstrating successful immobilization of antibodies on the cerasome surface. The surface functionalization allows the cerasomes to deliver drugs to targeted cells expressing certain types of receptors with desired selectivity and specificity that are not possible using standard liposomes. The Silica microparticles are used to mimic cerasomes in experiments targeting cancer cells and the particle-cell specific binding due to the bio-functionalization process is demonstrated.