Synthesis of magnetic hollow periodic mesoporous organosilica with enhanced cellulose tissue penetration behaviour

Abstract

Commercially available barium ferrite BaFe12O19 (BaFeO) nanoparticles with a size of ∼100 nm have been successfully encapsulated inside the hollow periodic mesoporous organosilica (HPMO) host material, through a 2-step (coating and encapsulation) approach. The resultant magnetic HPMO (MHPMO) nanoparticles possess a relatively high saturated magnetization (25 emu g-1) and a high enzyme loading capacity (1.32 mg/mg). It is further demonstrated that MHPMO materials exhibited enhanced cellulose tissue penetration behaviour under applied external magnetic field, promising for delivery applications to plant cells. © 2011 The Royal Society of Chemistry.