Innovative oral formulations with silicon nanoparticles for co-delivery of poorly soluble drugs and hydrogen gas

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Nanomedicine offers new opportunities for combination therapy by co-delivering multiple active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for improved convenience and synergistic effects. Recently, hydrogen gas (H 2 ) has gained attention for its antioxidant effects suitable for treating a wide variety of conditions, including central nervous system disorders. Previous approaches have combined drugs and H 2 delivery via separate administrations. Porous silicon nanoparticles (Si NPs) offer a single platform for both drug delivery and H 2 generation through water reduction under mildly alkaline conditions. In this study, porous Si NPs synthesized by centrifugal chemical vapor deposition (cCVD) were loaded with the anti-epileptic drugs Carbamazepine (CBZ) or Phenobarbital (PB) to evaluate dual-delivery performance. Tablet and capsule formulations were developed, and H 2 and drug release was evaluated in buffers at pH 7.4–8.0. Although cCVD Si NPs previously demonstrated superior H 2 release, drug loading and formulation components reduced this capacity in a concentration-dependent manner. CBZ-loaded particles showed enhanced drug release but markedly lower H 2 output, unlike PB-loaded particles. Direct compression of tablets was challenging due to the low density and poor compressibility of the Si NP powder, and capsules filled with Si NP powder achieved higher H 2 release. Overall, dual delivery of drugs and H 2 using cCVD Si NPs is feasible, though formulation optimization remains an essential task for further development.