Silica aerogel (SA) was loaded with nimesulide, a drug model compound, to demonstrate the potentiality of adsorption processes based on the usage of supercritical carbon dioxide to treat poorly water-soluble drugs, forming new kinds of drug delivery systems. Adsorption isotherms and kinetics were measured and described by models. The effect of pressure, temperature and solution concentration on loaded SA were also studied. Modelling of kinetic data showed that the sorption process was best described by a pseudo-second-order model. The adsorption isotherm data were best fitted by the Freundlich isotherm. The drug/SA composites were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray microanalysis, and FT-IR. Release kinetics of the adsorbed drug were also evaluated by in vitro dissolution tests. Results showed that nimesulide can be uniformly dispersed into the aerogel and that the release rate of nimesulide from the composite, constituted by drug and silica aerogel, is much faster than that of the crystalline drug. (C) 2011 The Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.