Diatomaceous Algal Biomass and Drug Delivery

The drug delivery process improves the therapeutic efficacy of drugs inside the body. Among the different types of carriers, silica (silicon dioxide, SiO2) has advantages as biocompatibility, biodegradability, capacity to change surface chemistry, chemical stability, and large surface area for sorption processes. However, synthetic silica is difficult to obtain with the required ordered porosity and uniformity in pore size, and it may give off toxic by-products in the manufacturing process. Biosilica, on the contrary, is naturally ordered with a multilayer and well-defined nanoporous structure; and they are biogenerated by diatoms. These algae, with over 20,000 species, are found in marine and freshwater ecosystems as well as in soil. In this chapter, we describe the characteristics of diatoms, including sources, phylogeny, and reproduction, highlighting their possible use as a source of efficient drug delivery carriers. Various applications in the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases and cancer are further discussed. © 2024 selection and editorial matter, Nivedita Sahu and S. Sridhar; individual chapters, the contributors.