Recent advances in porous nanomaterials-based drug delivery systems for osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common degenerative disease that develops over time, characterized mainly by inflammatory joints, cartilage deterioration, and ultimately loss of normal joint function. Some of the limitations that restrict the effectiveness of current OA treatment procedures include minimal penetration of medications into cartilage and lack of vascularity, leading to insufficient bioavailability and systemic toxicity. To increase the effectiveness of treatment, it is necessary to create novel non-invasive OA treatment techniques. Porous nanomaterials (PNMs) show great promise as sustained drug delivery systems (DDSs) due to their functionality, variable porosity, and high loading capacity. In addition, they can provide targeted drug delivery, facilitate controlled release of drugs, and prolong drug circulation and retention time while reducing adverse reactions and improving drug solubility. First, the current treatment methods and challenges are summarized. Subsequently, recent advances in DDSs for OA treatment based on PNMs with various pore sizes and structures are presented. Lastly, the parameters that affect the performance of DDSs are discussed by giving some suggestions for their design. The purpose of this review is to provide new insights into PNM-based DDS design and to inspire readers to adopt the smart design of intra-articular DDSs in the future.