In recent years there has been a growing interest in formulating solid dispersions, which purposes mainly include solubility enhancement, sustained drug release and taste masking. The most notable problem by these dispersions is drug-carrier (in)solubility. Here we focus on solubility parameters as a tool for predicting the solubility of a drug in certain carriers. Solubility parameters were determined in two different ways: solely by using calculation methods, and by experimental approaches. Six different calculation methods were applied in order to calculate the solubility parameters of the drug ibuprofen and several excipients. However, we were not able to do so in the case of ibuprofen lysinate, as calculation models for salts are still not defined. Therefore, the extended Hansen’s approach and inverse gas chromatography (IGC) were used for evaluating of solubility parameters for ibuprofen lysinate. The obtained values of the total solubility parameter did not differ much between the two methods: by the extended Hansen’s approach it was δt = 31.15 MPa^0.5 and with IGC it was δ_t = 35.17 MPa^0.5. However, the values of partial solubility parameters, i.e., δ_d, δ_p and δ_h, did differ from each other, what might be due to the complex behaviour of a salt in the presence of various solvents.

Ordered mesoporous silicates as matrices for controlled release of drugs: Interest in and thereby also development of ordered mesoporous silicates as drug delivery devices have grown immensely over the past few years. On hand selected cases from the literature, the power of such systems as delivery devices has been established. Specifically, it is shown how it is possible to enhance the release kinetics of poorly soluble drugs by embedding them in mesoporous silicates. Further critical factors governing the structure and release of the model drug itraconazole incorporated in an SBA-15 matrix are briefly reviewed. The possibility of functionalizing the surface of mesoporous matrices also under harsher conditions offers a broad platform for the design of stimuli-responsive drug release, including pH responsive systems and systems which respond to the presence of specific ions, reducing agents, magnetic field or UV light, whose efficiency and biocompatibility has been established in vitro.