Over the past few years, aerogels have shown great promise as delivery systems for active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). Aerogels are nanostructured materials with high surface area, high porosity and low density. The unique properties of aerogels provide the opportunity to incorporate various substances to obtain pharmaceutical compositions with modified release kinetics. Drug delivery systems based on aerogels provide a rapid onset of the therapeutic effect, high stability of the drug and improved bioavailability. This is due to the fact that the API is in an amorphous state in the pores of the aerogel, the average pore diameter ranges from 5 to 20 nm.

Particle-shaped aerogels are promising as nasal or inhaled drug delivery systems [1,2]. Aerogel particles can be of different sizes, for example from 2 to 50 μm, depending on the aerodynamic diameter requirements. The distinctive advantages of drug delivery systems based on biopolymer aerogels include biocompatibility, biodegradability, high mucoadhesive properties and high permeability. The successful implementation of APIs such as ibuprofen, rifabutin, loratadine, tryptophan, melatonin, clomipramine, neuropeptide Y and delta-sleep-inducing peptide into biopolymer aerogels has been successfully shown [1-5]. Experiments conducted on rats showed that API appears in the brain within 10 minutes when administered nasally, which is especially important for stroke and other dangerous diseases.

Research into the development of aerogels as drug delivery systems is accompanied by modeling to develop an in silico approach. The multiscale model approach to the creation of nasal and inhalant forms has been successfully developed [6,7]. It includes:
1 – modeling the kinetics of API release from particles in the nasal cavity (dissolution in nasal fluid) or the trachea-bronchi-lungs respiratory system;
2 – CFD modeling of particle flight and their deposition in the human nasal cavity and lungs;
3 – design of inhalers or dosing systems that ensure delivery of dry sprays to the desired location;
4 – design and 3D printing of devices that allow us to confirm calculations and study the processes of particle deposition in the nasal cavity.

At the first stage, a cellular automata approach is used, which allows modeling the transport process and the kinetics of API release from porous microparticles of biopolymer aerogels, both in the nasal cavity and in the lungs, at the nano- and microlevels [7].

The second stage uses CFD modeling (ANSYS software package, etc.), which is a promising approach in the development of innovative nasal and inhalation drug delivery systems. Combining CFD modeling with the results of medical data processing (CT and MRI) makes it possible to accurately predict the deposition zones of drug particles in various parts of the human respiratory system depending on the particle size [6].