Medicines based on nanosized silica – achievements and prospects

Abstract

Nanosized (highly dispersed, fumed) silica obtained by the vapor phase process has an extremely wide application in various areas of industrial activity. Its physicochemical characteristics, including adsorption capacity, have been well examined [1]. In pharmaceuticals, fumed silica has long been used as an effective and safe excipient in the manufacture of tablets, ointments, liniments and other dosage forms. A real innovation was the use of fumed silica as an independent medicine with sorption action. The credit for this belongs to the Ukrainian team of chemists, pharmacists and doctors [2]. The effectiveness of fumed silica as an enterosorbent is based primarily on its extraordinary ability to bind proteins, such as microbial and food toxins. Fumed silica is also considered as an enveloping agent that interacts with the glycoproteins of the intestinal mucosa, forming a barrier for the absorption of toxic substances and preventing the adhesion of pathogenic microorganisms [3]. The peak of studying the medical and biological properties of nanosized fumed silica has already passed; today, enterosorbents based on it, for example Polysorb plus, Atoxil®, Carbowhite®, are in stable demand on the Ukrainian market.