Recent Advances in Gels for Pharmaceutical Application

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2025 | Viewed by 358

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Drug Technology and Social Pharmacy, Medical Academy, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, LT-50161 Kaunas, Lithuania
Interests: hydrogels; natural polymers; plant extracts; technological functionalisation; gelation; cosmetic; pharmaceutical

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Guest Editor
Department of Drug Technology and Social Pharmacy, Medical Academy, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, LT-50161 Kaunas, Lithuania
Interests: pharmaceutical forms; formulation and technology; plant extracts; natural polymers; gummies; gelstablets
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Drug Technology and Social Pharmacy, Medical Academy, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, LT-50161 Kaunas, Lithuania
Interests: formulation of pharmaceutical forms; technological innovations; health and safety

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Gel-based formulations that incorporate natural bioactive compounds, such as extracts and isolated molecules, represent a novel approach across multiple industries. These formulations excel at stabilizing diverse bioactives from natural sources and can be adapted into a wide array of end products. Gel-based pharmaceutical systems are transforming drug delivery by enabling targeted, controlled, and sustained release of therapeutic compounds. Gels, including hydrogels, bigels, nanogels, and organogels, provide a versatile platform for various delivery routes, enhancing patient outcomes through improved efficacy and reduced side effects. The unique ability of these gels to respond to biological or environmental triggers such as temperature and pH makes them particularly valuable for precision medicine.

This Special Issue seeks to research the formulation and application of advanced gel systems. We encourage submissions on innovative methods, novel materials, and insights into gels for pharmaceutical use.

We look forward to your contributions.

Dr. Jurga Andreja Kazlauskaite
Dr. Inga Matulyte
Prof. Dr. Daiva Majienė
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 2100 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

  • gel
  • hydrogel
  • bigels
  • nanogel
  • microgel
  • gel-related formulation
  • encapsulation techniques
  • drug delivery
  • drug targeting

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

19 pages, 8480 KiB  
Article
(W/O/W) Double Emulsions-Filled Chitosan Hydrogel Beads for Topical Application
by Rui Sun, Yufeng Sun, Xiaoyan Tang and Juling Ji
Gels 2025, 11(7), 504; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels11070504 - 27 Jun 2025
Viewed by 149
Abstract
The aim of this study was to develop double emulsions-filled chitosan hydrogel beads for topical application and to elucidate their skin penetration behavior. Double emulsions were prepared by a two-step emulsification method, and double emulsions-filled chitosan hydrogel beads were prepared by the extrusion [...] Read more.
The aim of this study was to develop double emulsions-filled chitosan hydrogel beads for topical application and to elucidate their skin penetration behavior. Double emulsions were prepared by a two-step emulsification method, and double emulsions-filled chitosan hydrogel beads were prepared by the extrusion method. The structure, stability, and skin penetration behavior were investigated. The results of yield efficiency (above 80%) and microstructure observation confirmed the feasibility of the preparation method. After loading the hydrophilic active ingredients (vitamin C) into this system, the retention ratio after storage for 6 weeks increased by 77.6%. Furthermore, hydrogel beads could promote the permeation of hydrophilic active ingredients loaded in double emulsions. When the concentration of chitosan was 3% (w/v), the permeation coefficient of vitamin C from hydrogel beads exhibited an increase (1.7-fold) compared with double emulsions. This system could affect the orderliness of lipid structures in the stratum corneum. In addition, the results indicated that this system could be used for the topical delivery of hydrophobic active ingredients (quercetin) as well. This is the first report of chitosan bead stabilization of W/O/W emulsions, yielding a 2.6-fold increase in skin uptake of hydrophilic actives. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Gels for Pharmaceutical Application)
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