The complementary morphology of hollow silicon nanotubes (SiNTs) also provides opportunities in areas such as battery technology, photovoltaics, as well as drug delivery. SiNTs are tunable in their inner diameter as well as in their wall-thicknesses [3]. They provide a uniform structure compared to the dendritic pore growth of porous silicon in the target porous regime (30 to

90 nm pore diameter), and therefore, such structures are attractive for infiltration with nanoparticles or molecules (e.g., superparamagnetic (SPM) iron Enzalutamide supplier oxide nanoparticles of the form Fe3O4). In terms of possible candidates for this website loading, superparamagnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) also offer a low toxicity and thus can be applied to diverse uses in biomedicine, e.g., for hyperthermia, NMR imaging, and functionalization with anti-cancer agents [4]. In this work, SiNTs are infiltrated with Fe3O4 NPs to achieve a nanocomposite system which can, in the long term, be considered for use as a magnetic-assisted drug delivery vehicle. Previously, porous silicon loaded with iron oxide NPs of different sizes has been investigated with the cytocompatibility of this system showing encouraging results [5]. The cytocompatibility of SiNTs

has also been recently evaluated [6]. In the following work, the infiltration of Fe3O4 NPs into SiNTs of different wall thicknesses is described and the fundamental magnetic properties of these composites investigated as a function of the Fe3O4-nanoparticle size. Methods Silicon nanotubes were fabricated by a multistep process PF-04929113 supplier previously described [3] involving deposition of silane (SiH4) on preformed ZnO nanowire array templates on F-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass or Si wafer segments, followed by sacrificial etching of the ZnO phase resulting

in the desired nanotube product. Hollow nanotube inner diameter is adjustable by size selection of the initial ZnO nanowire template, while shell thickness control is achieved by concentration/duration second of silicon deposition. In these experiments, SiNTs with 10-nm wall thickness are obtained at 530°C with a 5-min Si deposition time, and SiNTs with 70-nm wall thickness are obtained at 580°C with a 5-min Si deposition time. Internal nanotube diameter is dependent on ZnO nanowire diameter, which in the experiments described here, is fixed at 50 nm. The wall thickness determines the dissolution of the material in vitro and thus is of importance for controlled drug release (vide infra). Iron oxide NPs have been prepared by a known route utilizing decomposition of an iron complex at high temperature [7]. NPs of different sizes (4 and 10 nm) are infiltrated into SiNTs with 10- and 70-nm wall thicknesses. The infiltration process performed at room temperature is supported by a magnetic field to assure optimal filling of the nanotubes. The infiltration process has been optimized with respect to the wall-thickness of the SiNTs and the size of the NPs used.