Double-nano silica xerogel contributes to establish nifedipine delivery system with superior delivery effect

To further explore the wonder of nano technology in drug delivery system, the combination of micelles and mesoporous silica was conducted for delivering poorly water soluble nifedipine (NFP). Double-nano silica xerogel (DN-SX) with both micelles and nanopores was prepared and silica xerogel with only nanopores (SN-SX) was made for comparison. Characteristics of DN-SX and SN-SX, including morphology, porous structure and crystalline state were investigated and pharmaceutical performances of drug loaded carriers were studied. The micelles in DN-SX contributed to achieve larger mesopores and enhanced NFP dissolution better than SN-SX. How responses of drug release amount and reduced drug release amount reacted as changing each influencing factor was elucidated by Box–Behnken experimental design. With the DN-SX obtained by optimization, in vivo pharmacokinetic study result demonstrated that the relative bioavailability of NFP loaded DN-SX and NFP loaded SN-SX were 216.84% and 161.14%, respectively. Therefore, the optimized DN-SX with double-nano structure was of great value for designing poorly water soluble drug delivery system.