Adsorption of drugs on silica aerogels

The adsorption of drugs on silica aerogels has been investigated. Adsorption takes place from the solution of a corresponding drug in supercritical CO2. Adsorption isotherms were measured for one model substance, naphthalene, and two drugs, ketoprofen and miconazole, at 40 C. It has been shown that both drugs exhibit a high affinity to silica aerogel what gives a possibility to use aerogels as a drug carrier in aerogel-drug formulations. The knowledge of the adsorption isotherm allows to control the loading of aerogels with drugs in such formulations. Both hydrophilic and hydrophobic aerogels can be used as a carrier. The influence of the hydrophobicity of the carrier material on the adsorption process is discussed.