10.57647/jnsc.2026.1605.24

Construction of pH and Redox Dual-ResponsiveMesoporous Silica Nanocarriers for Doxorubicin Deliveryin Ovarian Cancer TreatmentJun

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  • Jun Lou1,
  • Jun Zhu1,
  • Yin Bao2,
  • Jun Gao1,
  • Jiang Yan3,
  • Xiaorong Yang*1,
  1. Department of Gynecologic Oncology, Jiangxi Cancer Hospital, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang Medical College, Jiangxi Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Nanchang, 330029 Jiangxi, China
  2. Jiangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanchang, 330036 Jiangxi, China
  3. Obstetrics and Gynecology, Jiaojiang Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Taizhou, 317106 Zhejiang, China

Received: 18-03-2026

Revised: 20-04-2026

Accepted: 21-05-2026

Published in Issue 31-10-2026

Copyright (c) 2026 Jun Lou, Jun Zhu, Yin Bao, Jun Gao, Jiang Yan, Xiaorong Yang (Author)

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Lou, J., Zhu, J., Bao, Y., Gao, J., Yan, J., & Yang, X. (2026). Construction of pH and Redox Dual-ResponsiveMesoporous Silica Nanocarriers for Doxorubicin Deliveryin Ovarian Cancer TreatmentJun. Journal of Nanostructure in Chemistry, 16(5). https://doi.org/10.57647/jnsc.2026.1605.24
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Abstract

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) were engineered with a cystamine linker and a hyaluronic acid (HA) shell to create a pH- and redox-responsive carrier for doxorubicin (DOX) delivery to SKOV3 ovarian cancer cells. Transmission electron microscopy showed spherical cores with an average diameter of about 95 nm. Nitrogen sorption analysis gave a BET surface area of 1025.4 ± 15.2 m²/g, a total pore volume of 1.12 ± 0.03 cm³/g, and a mean pore diameter of 2.75 ± 0.05 nm for the bare MSNs. Surface functionalization increased the hydrodynamic diameter from 115 nm to about 165 nm and shifted the zeta potential from -28.5 mV to +32.4 mV after amination and to -35.1 mV after HA conjugation. The final formulation achieved 22.5 wt% loading with encapsulation efficiency above 85%. Drug release remained limited at pH 7.4 without glutathione (12% at 72 h), increased under acidic conditions (about 38% at pH 5.0), and reached about 88% under combined acidic and reducing conditions. Free HA reduced uptake by about 65%, supporting CD44-mediated internalization. Blank carriers maintained >90% SKOV3 viability up to 500 μg/mL, whereas DOX@MSN-SS-HA produced greater time-dependent cytotoxicity than free DOX at 48-72 h and increased apoptosis to 68.7% at 48 h. Confocal imaging showed progressive intracellular accumulation with nuclear localization by 12 h. Together, these data support the use of HA-gated, disulfide-linked MSNs as a promising in vitro platform for stimulus-responsive DOX delivery, while further studies are needed to define normal-cell safety, hemocompatibility, pharmacokinetics, and in vivo efficacy.

Keywords

  • CD44 targeting,
  • Hyaluronic acid,
  • Mesoporous silica nanoparticles,
  • Ovarian cancer,
  • Redox-responsive release
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