Release of ceria nanoparticles grafted on hybrid organic-inorganic films for biomedical application.

The controlled release of nanoparticles from a hybrid organic-inorganic surface allows for developing several applications based on a slow delivery of oxygen scavengers into specific environments. We have successfully grafted ceria nanoparticles on a hybrid film surface and tested their release in a buffer solution; the tests have shown that the particles are continuously delivered within a time scale of hours. The hybrid film has been synthesized using 3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane as precursor alkoxide; the synthesis has been performed in highly basic conditions to control the polycondensation reactions of both organic and inorganic networks via controlled aging of the solution. Only films prepared from aged solutions are able to graft ceria nanoparticles on their surface. The ceria nanoparticles have been characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and UV-vis spectroscopy, the hybrid films have been analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. Raman imaging has been used for the release test. The hybrid film-ceria nanoparticles system fulfils the requirements of optical transparency and stability in buffer solutions which are necessary for biomedical applications.