Applications of aerogels in life sciences

In this paper an overview about the applications of Aerogels in the fields of pharmacy, cosmetics, medicine, agriculture and biotechnology is given. The in situ encapsulation of proteins and enzymes into aerogels was shown to be a very promising technique leading to the increase of biocatalytical activity. Furthermore aerogels are used as host matrix for bio-active compounds, which improve or enable their performance. A promising area here is the use of macroporous silica aerogels as biosensors. In the filed of agriculture the application of fine silica aerogel powders for the storage protection of grains was demonstrated. The ability of aerogels to encapsulate chemical species like herbicides, insecticides, pesticides, fertilizers can be further utilized in this area. The use of both inorganic and organic aerogels as carriers for pharmaceutically active compounds was demonstrated by several groups. Aerogels were loaded with pharmaceuticals by many techniques, whereas the adsorption from supercritical solutions seems to be a most promising one. The bioavailability of many pharmaceuticals is significantly improved in this way. Taking into account all research activities in the area of aerogels application in life science a number of promising applications can be expected in future, whereas supercritical extraction and adsorption are the key technologies thereby.