Editor’s Choice Articles are selected based on suggestions from the academic editors of Pharmaceutics (ISSN: 1999-4923). The editors select a small number of published articles that they consider particularly interesting to our readers or important in their respective fields of research. You are therefore invited to read the Editor’s Choice Articles, a curated list of high-quality articles published in Pharmaceutics in April 2025. The full list of Editor’s Choice Articles can be viewed via the following link: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/pharmaceutics/editors_choice.

1. “PLA-Based Electrospun Nanofibrous Mats Towards Application as Antibiotic Carriers: Processing Parameters, Fabrication and Characterization”
by Evi Christodoulou, Anastasia Chondromatidou, Nikolaos D. Bikiaris, Evangelia Balla, Marilena Vlachou, Panagiotis Barmpalexis and Dimitrios N. Bikiaris
Pharmaceutics 2025, 17(5), 589; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics17050589
Editor’s highlight: “This interesting study demonstrates that star-shaped PLA-pentaerythritol (PLA-PE) copolymer nanofibers significantly outperform conventional linear PLA for transdermal antibiotic delivery systems. The star-shaped architecture enhances porosity, drug loading capacity, and drug release rates, while enabling faster biodegradation for controlled drug delivery. This innovation opens new possibilities for advanced wound dressing and anti-infective therapeutic applications.”

2. “Advances in Drug Delivery Integrated with Regenerative Medicine: Innovations, Challenges, and Future Frontiers”
by Manoochehr Rasekh, Muhammad Sohail Arshad and Zeeshan Ahmad
Pharmaceutics 2025, 17(4), 456; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics17040456
Editor’s highlight: “This comprehensive review examines the convergence of advanced drug delivery systems with regenerative medicine technologies, highlighting groundbreaking approaches for tissue repair and disease treatment. Key topics include biomaterial integration enabling controlled release systems with enhanced therapeutic precision, cell-based therapies, emerging technologies such as 3D bioprinting and electrospinning, and clinical applications. This interdisciplinary approach accelerates personalized medicine and addresses major challenges in regenerative therapy.”

3. “Use of Computational Intelligence in Customizing Drug Release from 3D-Printed Products: A Comprehensive Review”
by Fantahun Molla Kassa, Souha H. Youssef, Yunmei Song and Sanjay Garg
Pharmaceutics 2025, 17(5), 551; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics17050551
Editor’s highlight: “This review explores how computational intelligence and machine learning are transforming personalized medicine through advanced 3D printing technology. Key advances include predictive modeling, customized formulations, quality optimization with real-time quality control and manufacturing process enhancement, and clinical translation. This convergence of AI and 3D printing is contributing to the development of on-demand, personalized pharmaceutical manufacturing.”

4. “Anti-Candida Activity of Cysteine-Modified Amidated Decoralin in the Presence of Engineered Nanomaterials”
by Vânia Rocha, Helena Almeida, Bruno Sarmento and José das Neves
Pharmaceutics 2025, 17(4), 460; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics17040460
Editor’s highlight: “The study highlights the potential and challenges of peptide-based antifungal treatments by offering precise, methodologically sound insights into the interactions between antimicrobial peptides and nanomaterials. It is a significant addition to the field considering its methodical evaluation and clinical applicability.”

5. “Salicylic Acid-Mediated Silver Nanoparticle Green Synthesis: Characterization, Enhanced Antimicrobial, and Antibiofilm Efficacy”
by Jingqing Zhang, Yuxu Chen, Yuanyu Xu, Zhimin Zhao and Xinjun Xu
Pharmaceutics 2025, 17(4), 532; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics17040532
Editor’s highlight: “The submitted manuscript presents a compelling and timely contribution to the field of nanobiotechnology by introducing a rapid, sustainable, and highly effective biogenic synthesis method for salicylic acid-mediated silver nanoparticles (SA-AgNPs). To confirm the Editor's Choice designation, this is supported by several key strengths:

• Innovative and Environmentally Friendly Synthesis Approach: The study employs salicylic acid as both a reducing and capping agent, offering a simplified, green, and reproducible synthetic route. This dual functionality significantly advances current methodologies by eliminating the need for toxic chemicals and complex procedures, aligning with global priorities in sustainable nanomaterial production.
• Comprehensive Multimodal Characterization: The nanoparticles were rigorously analyzed using a broad suite of characterization techniques (UV Vis, DLS, SEM-EDS, TEM, XRD, FTIR, TGA/DSC). This thorough methodological framework reinforces the scientific robustness of the findings and ensures high reproducibility, which is essential for translational research.
• Exceptional Antibacterial Efficacy and Mechanistic Insight: SA-AgNPs demonstrated strong inhibitory effects against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogens, including clinically relevant drug-resistant strains such as MRSA and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis. The study not only reports impressive MIC values and killing efficiencies but also elucidates the underlying antibacterial mechanism, showing membrane permeability disruption and induction of bacterial apoptosis. This mechanistic clarity enhances the manuscript's scientific impact.
• High Relevance to Global Health and Biomedical Applications: The demonstrated ability of SA-AgNPs to inhibit 95.61% of MRSA biofilm formation highlights their strong potential for integration into antibacterial coatings, implantable medical devices, and advanced wound dressings. Given the urgent need for alternatives to conventional antibiotics in the face of rising antimicrobial resistance, the findings have substantial translational and societal value.
• Alignment with Editorial Priorities: The manuscript combines methodological novelty, environmental sustainability, mechanistic depth, and direct application potential qualities that strongly align with the standards typically recognized by the Editor's Choice designation. Its broad relevance across materials science, microbiology, and biomedical engineering makes it particularly impactful for the journal's readership.

In summary, the work offers significant scientific advancement and a promising platform for next-generation nano-antibiotic technologies. The rigor, innovation, and application-oriented relevance of the study make it an excellent candidate for selection as an Editor's Choice feature.”

6. “Carbon Dots as a Fluorescent Nanosystem for Crossing the Blood–Brain Barrier with Plausible Application in Neurological Diseases”
by Catarina Araújo, Raquel O. Rodrigues, Manuel Bañobre-López, Adrián M. T. Silva and Rui S. Ribeiro
Pharmaceutics 2025, 17(4), 477; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics17040477
Editor’s highlight: “This manuscript presents a well-designed and carefully executed study on fluoride-doped carbon dots for brain-targeted theranostic applications. The authors provide a thorough characterization, demonstrating that the NF-CDs possess well-defined nanoscale dimensions, high quantum yield, excitation-dependent fluorescence, and excellent colloidal and photostability.
The biological evaluation, particularly the demonstration of low cytotoxicity and BBB model permeability, is promising. However, it should be noted that carbon dots can potentially interfere with resazurin-based assays, and the study does not include a positive control to validate the cytotoxicity measurements. These points limit the confidence in the quantitative cytotoxicity data and should be addressed in future work.
Nonetheless, the study makes a significant contribution through its synthesis, characterization, and demonstration of BBB permeability. Overall, it is a high-quality and impactful piece of research that will be of interest to the nanomaterials and biomedical communities, and it is suitable for consideration as an Editor’s Choice Article.”

7. “Influence of Ionization and the Addition of Cyclodextrins and Hydrophilic Excipients on the Solubility of Benzthiazide, Isoxicam, and Piroxicam”
by Diego Lucero-Borja, Rebeca Ruiz, Elisabet Fuguet and Clara Ràfols
Pharmaceutics 2025, 17(5), 571; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics17050571
Editor’s highlight: “The manuscript highlighted that the bioavailability of a drug depends, among other parameters, on solubility. The authors emphasize that one of the strategies used to enhance the solubility of sparingly soluble drugs is the use of excipients. Excipients can interact with the drug by increasing its solubility and/or stabilizing supersaturated solutions. Also, the authors underlined that some of the most common excipients are cyclodextrins and hydrophilic polymers. Dr. Lucero-Borja et al. based their study on the effect of two cyclodextrins (captisol and cavasol) and three hydrophilic polymers (klucel, kollidon and plasdone S630) on the solubility of three ionizable drugs (benzthiazide, isoxicam, and piroxicam). They evaluated this at biorelevant pH values, using two complementary techniques. The methods they used was the solubility enhancement by evaluating the comparison of the solubility with and without the presence of excipients through the shake-flask and CheqSol methodology. The results of the authors are very interesting. Dr. Lucero-Borja et al. showed that Captisol and cavasol slightly increase the concentration of the neutral species of the drugs in the solution before precipitation begins, although they do not enhance the supersaturation duration nor the thermodynamic solubility of the drugs. They showed also that the increase in solubility in the presence of cyclodextrins is mainly caused by the ionization state of the drug. Hydrophilic polymers not only improve thermodynamic solubility but also the extent and the duration of the supersaturation. Also, they observed that some metastable forms are observed for benzthiazide and isoxicam in the presence of kollidon and plasdone S630. The authors drew the conclusions that the shake-flask method enabled the evaluation of thermodynamic solubility both in the absence and presence of excipients. Meanwhile, the CheqSol method provided insights into the presence of supersaturated solutions. Different behavior was observed depending on the nature of the excipient.”