Haemolytic activity and cellular toxicity of SBA-15-type silicas: elucidating the role of the mesostructure, surface functionality and linker length

Abstract

In this contribution, amorphous silica (a-SiO₂), native SBA-15 silica as well as four functional SBA-15-type silicates modified with aminopropyl (SBA-NH₂), mercaptopropyl (SBA-SH), ethylcarboxylic (SBA-COOH) and undecenoic acid (SBA-FA-COOH) were prepared by the co-condensation route under similar self-assembly and sol–gel conditions. Next, the impact of these materials on red blood cells was evaluated by studying cell haemolysis and haemoglobin adsorption. Moreover, the influence of the presence of human serum albumin (HSA) on erythrocyte haemolysis and cytotoxicity toward B14 Chinese fibroblasts were investigated. Based on these variants, the role of the mesostructure, the nature of the functional group located on the silica surface and the influence of the linker length have been elucidated.