Mesoporous silica nanoparticles as delivery carriers: An overview of drug loading techniques

Abstract Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) are arising as a promising delivery system for a more effective and safer therapy of many diseases, such as cancer, osteoporosis and bacterial infection. The prerequisite for success of this kind of treatment is being able to achieve high drug loading of MSNs. In this review, we describe different drug loading procedures currently being utilized, from solvent free to organic solvent methods and highlight their strong points and weaknesses. While MSNs are usually presented as drug delivery system enabling high drug loading, this is not universally true for all drugs and drug loading procedures. Some drug loading techniques are also hurdled by removal of organic solvent, some can be also time and cost consuming. The choice of drug loading technique can also affect drug localization and drug release.