The Effects of Surface Functionalization of Zinc Doped Silica Literature review

The Effects of Surface Functionalization of Zinc Doped Silica - Literature review Example Zinc ionosphere solution produces anti-proliferative activity resulting in intracellular concentrations of free zinc, which is an active cancer culture. However, based on the properties of silica nanoparticles it has been found that they have greater advantages over ZnO nanoparticles. Silica nanoparticles have stability, low toxicity and an inherent ability to functionalize with a range of molecules and polymers. On the other hand, ZnO nanoparticles provide versatile and promising platforms for cancerous cells as they are selective and have the inherent toxicity of the particles. ZnO nanoparticles exert selective cytotoxic effects on the cancerous cells (Sirotnak et al. 2000). The reactive oxygen species generated in the cancerous cells in response to the free zinc is larger than that generated in the normal body cells and that combined with the sensitivity of the cancerous cells results in an effective death of the cancer cells. This effectiveness is largely due to the high solubili ty and high potency of dissolved zinc ions together with the miniature surface area, the chemical compositions and the environmental parameters including the pH. The combination of silica nanoparticles and therapeutic ions in the form of zinc complement each other with their zero premature controlled release which ensures the drugs are carried with precise control of location and activity (Ding et al. 2005). In the preparation of Giant Uni-lamellar Vesicle (GUV), there are two efficient methods that are used. These two methods include W/O emulsion transfer and the lipid-coated ice droplet methods. W/O emulsion transfer method involves putting together the second layer of lipids on a lipid-coated water to form the membrane that contains oils from the emulsion.