ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on various synthetic routes, characterization aspects, and their application in diverse biotechnological niches, considering the aforementioned opportunities for different silica nanomaterials. Sol-gel synthesis is a bottom-up approach that involves the formation of solid silica materials, like silica oxides, into monomers; these formed silicate monomers are built into colloidal solutions that act as a scaffold for the solid aggregates or polymers. The distinct and dynamic tailorable features of silica nanoforms, including size, shape, volume, surface area, surface chemistry, diameter, pore volume, pore diameter, and drug loading ability have tuned them as a nanocargo for drug loading, specific targeting, slow release, and monitoring and imaging drug/gene delivery. Nanosilica offers a good choice for fabrication of coatings owing to its minimal toxicity, long shelf life, tailorable silane chemistry, and thermal stability. Silica has been explored as a food-packaging material owing to its non-toxic, non-irritant nature and its biocompatibility with food.
