UC Santa Cruz

Carbon monoxide (CO), typically known as a toxic gas has gained attention since the discovery of its role in cell signaling, making it a potential therapeutic agent. However, it has showed difficulties in direct clinical use due to its concentration-dependent toxicity. In 2002, carbon monoxide releasing materials (CORMs) were first introduced as a potential CO delivery system. Use of CORMs enabled localized administration of CO. This not only reduced the risk of exposing CO to the normal cells, it increased the efficacy by maintaining high dose at the target site.

In this study, we have developed a new CO delivery system that further improves overall efficiency. Our design consists of photoactive manganese carbonyl CORM encapsulated within mesoporous silicate nanoparticles (MSN). It has shown several advantages over raw administration of CORM. It was able to hold CO with minimum leakage, and released sufficient amounts of CO upon irritation with broad UV light at fast rate. MSN also showed promising cell uptake and cell viability.