Supercritical impregnation of drugs and supercritical fluid deposition of metals into aerogels

The presented review covers the latest research on supercritical impregnation into organic and inorganic aerogels by investigating those factors that influence the impregnation. Supercritical impregnation is a promising method for incorporating drugs within porous carriers including for water insoluble drugs. An additional step (reduction from metallic precursor to metal) is required for the supercritical impregnation of metallic precursors. Hence, this expanded method is preferably termed as supercritical fluid deposition or adsorption. Supercritical impregnation of drugs, as well as metals, are mostly influenced by interactions between the compound and aerogel matrix, supercritical impregnation conditions, and the characteristics of a compound within a supercritical fluid.