Breaking with Light: Stimuli-Responsive Mesoporous Organosilica Particles

Stimuli-responsive particles have gained considerable interest in many fields of materials science. Among the various possible triggers, light is particularly advantageous due to its easy and efficient spatiotemporal control. In this work, we report the synthesis of a novel light-cleavable bis-alkoxysilane linker and its use for the preparation of mesoporous organosilica particles. We demonstrate that the resulting porous particles can be completely degraded upon exposure to UV light. These light-breakable nanocontainers can encapsulate a large variety of molecules, and they are able to quantitatively release their cargo upon light exposure. We proved the loading and release of a biologically important molecule, provitamin D3, upon UV-light irradiation.