Fabrication of PLGA coated silica nanorattle for controlling the drug release behavior

Silica nanorattle with hollow and mesoporous structure has been proven to be an excellent drug carrier. However, how to control the drug release from silica nanorattle is still a challenge. In this study, we designed two methods, in-situ polymerization method and water in oil in water (W/O/W) double emulsion method, to coat a nanosized poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) layer onto the surface of silica nanorattle for controlling the drug release behavior. Hydrophobic antitumor drug docetaxel was loaded into the PLGA coated silica nanorattle (PLGA@SN). The drug release profile, cellular uptake and cytotoxicity on human liver cancer HepG2 cells were evaluated to prove that the PLGA layer plays an effective role in tuning the drug delivery.