Abstract
Mesoporous silica has been gaining popularity as a drug delivery medium in
recent years. Materials scientists have used these inorganic carriers successfully in
other fields, including catalysis, purification, and adsorption. A major challenge in
medicine is delivering drugs to defective cells or tumor cells in a way that has minimal
toxic side effects. Due to the poor physicochemical and biological properties of a drug
molecule like solubility, permeability, absorption and bioavailability, patients may
have to take high doses of the drug to achieve the desired therapeutic effect. Various
drug carriers are available in the pharmaceutical industry to help solve this problem.
Biocompatible, chemically, and thermally stable nanoparticles, mesoporous silica
nanoparticles (MSNs), are ideal for this application. During the last few years, research
on the mesoporous-based delivery system has been studied vigorously. These materials
act as drug carriers for the delivery of different therapeutic agents. This versatility is
because they are used for the loading of small molecules and macromolecules such as
proteins and siRNA. Mesoporous materials as a drug delivery system were discussed in
this chapter. Specifically, it provides an overview of the synthesis, structural
configurations, and their roles in loading and delivering therapeutic agents for the
anticancer agents used in prostate cancer. The applications of these materials in
prostate cancer for the detection, diagnosis, and treatment, were explored.