Search Results (3)

Silica aerogel has garnered significant attention in the biomedical field, primarily due to its unique combination of a three-dimensional structure, low density, tunable nanoscale pores, and an extensive surface area. These intrinsic properties render it as an exceptional candidate for advanced drug delivery systems (DDSs). In the realm of medical applications, silica aerogels have demonstrated remarkable potential, especially in nanoscale DDSs. Traditional drug delivery methods, such as capsules and tablets, are often plagued by several drawbacks, including poor bioavailability, lack of target specificity, and multidrug resistance. These limitations necessitate the development of more efficient and targeted drug delivery systems. Recent advancements in the synthesis and modification of silica aerogels have significantly enhanced their biocompatibility and functionalization capabilities. These improvements have further bolstered their potential for controlled release and targeted delivery of therapeutic agents. This study is based on silica aerogel-based nanocarrier systems, providing an in-depth exploration of its fundamental principles, preparation processes, and recent advancements. Based on this, we summarize the drug delivery methods, drug release characteristics, and diverse medical applications of silica aerogels. Additionally, we discuss the challenges and future prospects of applying silica aerogels in drug delivery systems, aiming to provide a comprehensive overview of this field. Full article

The textile industry is one of the most important industries in the European Union. The main environmental problems of the textile industry are the high water consumption, the generated pollution, the variety of chemicals used and the high energy demand. Recently, adsorbents with a large specific surface area and low weight, such as aerogels, have attracted great interest as promising materials for removing dyes from polluted water. Cellulose aerogels are inexpensive and non-toxic. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms were chosen as the best method to describe the performance of the adsorbent. In this study, the adsorption efficiency of Congo red, Naphthol green B, Rhodamine B and Methylene blue were determined by using an adsorbent synthesized from paper and cardboard waste. The total organic carbon concentration was chosen as an indicator of the concentration of the dyes in the solutions. The aerogel capsules had 5% cellulose content. It was found that the adsorption capacity of the aerogel in the solutions of Congo red varied from 0.028 mg/g to 14.483 mg/g; in the solutions of Naphthol green B, from 0.013 mg/g to 7.698 mg/g; in the solutions of Rhodamine B, from 0.020 mg/g to 8.768 mg/g; and in the solutions of Methylene blue, from 0.024 mg/g to 13.538 mg/g. Full article

The production of aerogels for different applications has been widely known, but the use of polysaccharide-based aerogels for pharmaceutical applications, specifically as drug carriers for wound healing, is being recently explored. The main focus of this work is the production and characterization of drug-loaded aerogel capsules through prilling in tandem with supercritical extraction. In particular, drug-loaded particles were produced by a recently developed inverse gelation method through prilling in a coaxial configuration. Particles were loaded with ketoprofen lysinate, which was used as a model drug. The core-shell particles manufactured by prilling were subjected to a supercritical drying process with CO₂ that led to capsules formed by a wide hollow cavity and a tunable thin aerogel layer (40 μm) made of alginate, which presented good textural properties in terms of porosity (89.9% and 95.3%) and a surface area up to 417.0 m²/g. Such properties allowed the hollow aerogel particles to absorb a high amount of wound fluid moving very quickly (less than 30 s) into a conformable hydrogel in the wound cavity, prolonging drug release (till 72 h) due to the in situ formed hydrogel that acted as a barrier to drug diffusion. Full article