Preparation and Controllability of Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles.

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) have attracted great attention because of their high surface area, large pore volume, transparency, biocompatibility, and high cell-uptake efficiency. Such unique properties allow the use of these materials such as catalysts, drug carriers, and optical materials. This chapter introduces the preparation of MSNs and some recent developments in the preparation of MSNs with precisely controlled particle size, pore size, functionality, and morphology.