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Gels
Special Issues
Hydrogels as Controlled Drug Delivery Systems
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Hydrogels as Controlled Drug Delivery Systems

A special issue of Gels (ISSN 2310-2861). This special issue belongs to the section "Gel Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 June 2023) | Viewed by 5779

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Kamil Elkhoury

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory for Analysis and Architecture of Systems, the French National Center for Scientific Research (LAAS-CNRS), 31400 Toulouse, France
Interests: biomaterials; nanovesicles; hydrogels; tissue engineering; drug delivery
Dr. Flávia Sousa

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, 16163 Genova, Italy
Interests: drug delivery; nanotechnology; biomaterials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Elmira Arab-Tehrany

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratoire d’Ingénierie des Biomolécules (LIBio), Université de Lorraine, CEDEX, 54518 Vandoeuvre, France
Interests: nanoliposome; biomaterials; hydrogels; molecular transfer; vectorisation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Conventional drug administration has a low overall efficacy and patient compliance, since it entails repeated administration or high dosages to result in an efficient therapeutic outcome. To prevent these issues, recent research has been focused on controlled drug delivery systems, since they can control the spatiotemporal availability of drugs to cells and tissues. These advanced delivery systems include soft and hard nanoparticles, synthetic or natural hydrogels, membranes, fibres, etc., and can enhance therapeutic effectiveness by reducing their required dosage and potential toxicity.

Hydrogels, which are crosslinked polymer networks, recently gained immense popularity as drug delivery systems because their high water content provides them with an excellent biocompatibility and the capability of encapsulating hydrophilic drugs. Interestingly, the risk of drug aggregation and denaturation is drastically reduced because hydrogels are typically crosslinked in aqueous solutions without any exposure to organic solvents. In addition to delivering drugs, genes, growth factors, nanovesicles, and other bioactive molecules, hydrogels can also serve as supportive matrices that can guide and regulate the fate of embedded cells. For these reasons, hydrogels have been widely used for biomedical applications, i.e., drug delivery, tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, etc.

This Special Issue has the aim of highlighting current progress in the development of hydrogels as controlled drug delivery systems with a particular focus on new technologies and new materials. Investigations on hydrogels as biomimetic extracellular matrices will also be warmly welcomed.

Dr. Kamil Elkhoury
Dr. Flávia Sousa
Prof. Dr. Elmira Arab-Tehrany
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Gels is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • hydrogels
  • biomaterials
  • nanomaterials
  • drug delivery
  • controlled release
  • bioactive materials
  • tissue engineering
  • regenerative medicine

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 2412 KiB  
Article
Biomedical Applications of Thermosensitive Hydrogels for Controlled/Modulated Piroxicam Delivery
by Snežana Ilić-Stojanović, Ljubiša Nikolić, Vesna Nikolić, Ivan Ristić, Suzana Cakić and Slobodan D. Petrović
Gels 2023, 9(1), 70; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels9010070 - 15 Jan 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1614
Abstract
The objectives of this study are the synthesis of thermosensitive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-2-hydroxypropyl methacrylate), p(NiPAm-HPMet), hydrogels and the analysis of a drug-delivery system based on piroxicam, as a model drug, and synthesized hydrogels. A high pressure liquid chromatography method has been [...] Read more.
The objectives of this study are the synthesis of thermosensitive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-2-hydroxypropyl methacrylate), p(NiPAm-HPMet), hydrogels and the analysis of a drug-delivery system based on piroxicam, as a model drug, and synthesized hydrogels. A high pressure liquid chromatography method has been used in order to determine both qualitative and quantitative amounts of unreacted monomers and crosslinkers from polymerized hydrogels. Swelling kinetics and the order of a swelling process of the hydrogels have been analyzed at 10 and 40 °C. The copolymers’ thermal properties have been monitored by the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) method. DSC termograms have shown that melting occurs in two temperature intervals (142.36–150.72 °C and 153.14–156.49 °C). A matrix system with incorporated piroxicam has been analyzed by using FTIR and SEM methods. Structural analysis has demonstrated that intermolecular non-covalent interactions have been built between side-groups of copolymer and loaded piroxicam. Morphology of p(NiPAm-HPMet) after drug incorporation indicates the piroxicam presence into the copolymer pores. Kinetic parameters of the piroxicam release from hydrogels at 37 °C and pH 7.4 indicate that the fluid transport mechanism corresponds to Fickian diffusion. As a result, formulation of thermosensitive p(NiPAm-HPMet) hydrogels with incorporated piroxicam could be of interest for further testing as a drug carrier for modulated and prolonged release, especially for topical administration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrogels as Controlled Drug Delivery Systems)
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16 pages, 3230 KiB  
Article
Encapsulation of Grape (Vitis vinifera L.) Pomace Polyphenols in Soybean Extract-Based Hydrogel Beads as Carriers of Polyphenols and pH-Monitoring Devices
by Gianluca Viscusi, Elena Lamberti, Carmela Gerardi, Giovanna Giovinazzo and Giuliana Gorrasi
Gels 2022, 8(11), 734; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels8110734 - 11 Nov 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1717
Abstract
In this work, novel bio-based hydrogel beads were fabricated by using soybean extract as raw waste material loaded with Lambrusco extract, an Italian grape cultivar. The phenolic profile and the total amount of anthocyanins from the Lambrusco extract were evaluated before encapsulating it [...] Read more.
In this work, novel bio-based hydrogel beads were fabricated by using soybean extract as raw waste material loaded with Lambrusco extract, an Italian grape cultivar. The phenolic profile and the total amount of anthocyanins from the Lambrusco extract were evaluated before encapsulating it in soybean extract-based hydrogels produced through an ionotropic gelation technique. The physical properties of the produced hydrogel beads were then studied in terms of their morphological and spectroscopic properties. Swelling degree was evaluated in media with different pH levels. The release kinetics of Lambrusco extract were then studied over time as a function of pH of the release medium, corroborating that the acidity/basicity could affect the release rate of encapsulated molecules, as well as their counter-diffusion. The pH-sensitive properties of wine extract were studied through UV-Vis spectroscopy while the colorimetric responses of loaded hydrogel beads were investigated in acidic and basic solutions. Finally, in the framework of circular economy and sustainability, the obtained data open routes to the design and fabrication of active materials as pH-indicator devices from food industry by-products. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrogels as Controlled Drug Delivery Systems)
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9 pages, 2263 KiB  
Article
Polycarboxybetaine-Based Hydrogels for the Capture and Release of Circulating Tumor Cells
by Hsiu-Wen Chien, Jen-Chia Wu, Ying-Chih Chang and Wei-Bor Tsai
Gels 2022, 8(7), 391; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels8070391 - 21 Jun 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1830
Abstract
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are indicators for the detection, diagnosis, and monitoring of cancers and offer biological information for the development of personalized medicine. Techniques for the specific capture and non-destructive release of CTCs from millions of blood cells remain highly desirable. Here, [...] Read more.
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are indicators for the detection, diagnosis, and monitoring of cancers and offer biological information for the development of personalized medicine. Techniques for the specific capture and non-destructive release of CTCs from millions of blood cells remain highly desirable. Here, we present a CTC capture-and-release system using a disulfide-containing poly(carboxybetaine methacrylate) (pCB) hydrogel. The non-fouling characteristic of pCB prevents unwanted, nonspecific cell binding, while the carboxyl functionality of pCB is used for the conjugation of anti-epithelial cell adhesion molecule (anti-EpCAM) antibodies for the capture of CTCs. The results demonstrated that the anti-EpCAM-conjugated pCB hydrogel captured HCT116 cells from blood, and the capture ratio reached 45%. Furthermore, the captured HCT116 cells were released within 30 min from the dissolution of the pCB hydrogel by adding cysteine, which breaks the disulfide bonds of the crosslinkers. The cells released were viable and able to grow. Our system has potential in the development of a device for CTC diagnosis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrogels as Controlled Drug Delivery Systems)
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