Multifluorescently traceable nanoparticle by a single-wavelength excitation with color-related drug release performance.

Monodisperse and nanometer-sized periodic mesoporous organosilicas co-doped with fluorescence resonance energy transfer cascades composed of triple fluorophores at various ratios were prepared. These nanoparticles exhibit multifluorescent emissions by a single-wavelength excitation and were designed for the application as multichannelly traceable drug carriers. Different from the hydrophilic framework of inorganic mesoporous silica and hydrophobic framework of mesoporous carbon, these multifluorescent nanoparticles have intrinsically different and finely tunable pore surface polarities governed by the type and amount of fluorophore inside the framework. When applied as drug carriers, they can achieve synchronous or asynchronous release of different drugs by simply choosing different colored nanoparticles. These colorful mesoporous composites with finely tunable color-related drug release performance provide a strong barcoding system for the potential applications of fluorescent nanoparticles in effective screening of drugs and therapeutic protocols for diseases.