Selenium-containingheterocyclic compounds have been well recognized, not only because of their remarkable reactivities and chemical properties, but also because of their diverse pharmaceutical applications. In this context, isoselenocyanates have been emerged as a powerful tool for the synthesis of selenium-containing heterocycles, since they are easy to prepare and store and are safe to handle. In this review the recent advances in the development of synthesis methods forselenium-containing heterocycles from isoselenocyanates are presented and discussed.

In the current report, hollow mesoporous silica (HMS) nanoparticles were successfully prepared by means of a hard-templating method and further modified with poly(styrene sulfonate) (PSS) via radical polymerization. Structural analysis, surface spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric characterization confirmed a successful surface modification of HMS nanoparticles. A hairy PSS was clearly visualized by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy measurement, and it is grown on the surface of HMS nanoparticles. The Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area and average pore size of HMS nanoparticles were reduced after surface modification because of the pore-blocking effect, which indicated that the PSS lies on the surface of nanoparticles. Nevertheless, the PSS acts as a “nano-gate” to control the release of curcumin which is triggered by pH. The drug-release profile of unmodified HMS nanoparticles showed a stormed release in both pH 7.4 and 5.0 of phosphate buffer saline buffer solution. However, a slow release (9.92% of cumulative release) of curcumin was observed at pH 7.4 when the surface of HMS nanoparticles was modified by PSS. The kinetic release study showed that the curcumin release mechanism from [email protected] nanoparticles followed the Ritger–Peppas kinetic model, which is the non-Fickian diffusion. Therefore, the PSS-decorated HMS nanoparticles demonstrate potential for pH-triggered drug release transport.