title: Drug delivery via porous silicon: a focused patent review.
abstract: Although silicon is more commonly associated with computer chips than with drug delivery, with the discovery that porous silicon is a viable biocompatible material, mesoporous silicon with pores between 2 and 50 nm has been loaded with small molecule and biomolecule therapeutics and safely implanted for controlled release. As porous silicon is readily oxidized, porous silica must also be considered for drug delivery applications. Since 2010, only a limited number of US patents have been granted, primarily for ophthalmologic and immunotherapy applications, in contrast to the growing body of technical literature in this area.
authors.affiliation: Science Department, Princeton International School of Mathematics & Science, 19 Lambert Drive, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA.
authors.forename: Paulina A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Kulyavtsev
authors.affiliation: Science Department, Princeton International School of Mathematics & Science, 19 Lambert Drive, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA.
authors.forename: Roxanne P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Spencer
mesh_terms: D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000737:chemistry*; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000295:instrumentation; D006801:Humans; D010330:Patents as Topic; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry; D016062:Porosity; D012825:Silicon / Q000737:chemistry*; D054852:Small Molecule Libraries / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D004337:Drug Carriers; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D054852:Small Molecule Libraries; D012825:Silicon
keywords: drug delivery; immunotherapy; nanoparticles; ophthalmology; porous silicon