Sol-gel: Uncomplicated, routine and affordable synthesis procedure for utilization of composites in drug delivery: Review

Drug delivery is known as an approach for transporting a pharmaceutical compound in animals and the human body to achieve effective therapy. Drug carriers are usually based on nanoparticles synthesized by several methods. The sol-gel method is an inexpensive and simple process to prepare drug carriers that can produce particles with a high degree of homogeneity and purity. The process of sol-gel involves hydrolysis, polymerization/condensation of monomers, particle growth, and gel formation. The properties of materials including composition and morphology are affected by several factors and can be controlled by the process parameters. Due to the advantages of this method, it is widely used for drug carriers’ preparation. In this study, the definition and advantages of the sol-gel process are discussed. Moreover, drug carriers such as organic-inorganic, silica, and calcium composites, as well as bioactive glass synthesized by this method are reviewed.