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Gels
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Design and Optimization of Pharmaceutical Gels (2nd Edition)
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Design and Optimization of Pharmaceutical Gels (2nd Edition)

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2025 | Viewed by 6143

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Zhengwei Huang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Pharmacy, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China
Interests: inhalable nanomedicines; drug delivery; ferroptosis; protein corona; biological fate
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Ying Huang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Pharmacy, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China
Interests: nanoparticles for pulmonary drug delivery
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Xuanjuan Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Pharmacy, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China
Interests: drug delivery; pulmonary drug delivery system; nose–brain drug delivery system
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are grateful to all authors, reviewers, and readers for their responses to the first edition of “Design and Optimization of Pharmaceutical Gels”. You can access these articles at no cost via the following link:

https://www.mdpi.com/journal/gels/special_issues/Y22NN1L4RC

The efficacy of many bioactive agents, including drugs, food supplements, and vaccines, is limited because of their poor chemical stability, low water solubility, and low oral bioavailability. Thus, delivery vehicles are being developed to overcome these problems. Because of their high drug loading efficiency, high biocompatibility, and low toxicity, gels in particular have attracted much attention in the field of drug delivery systems (DDSs), such as sustained-release DDSs, controlled-release DDSs, targeting DDSs, and local DDSs.

Gels are three-dimensional, semi-solid systems consisting of polymeric matrices. The physicochemical properties of gels, such as their physical strength, viscosity, and self-healing ability, can be tailored to meet the specific requirements of applications in various fields, such as drug and cell delivery, bioscaffolds, and the modelling of extracellular matrices. In particular, novel gel-based delivery systems (such as intelligent hydrogels, in situ gels, emulsion gels, nanogels, vesicular gels, and microgels) can release drugs through specific biological or external stimuli, such as temperature, pH, enzymes, ultrasound, antigens, etc., to achieve precise and local drug delivery. Therefore, gels have broad clinical application prospects and are anticipated to provide new, effective, and robust strategies for the theranostics of diseases.

The aim of this Special Issue is to shed light on the application of gels in material development, system construction, structural characterization, and disease. Research on gels with high translational potential is particularly sought after. Original research, reviews, mini-reviews, and perspective papers which reflect the status quo of this topic are warmly welcomed.

Dr. Zhengwei Huang
Dr. Ying Huang
Dr. Xuanjuan Zhang
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

  • gelation materials
  • novel gel-based delivery systems
  • intelligent hydrogels
  • in situ gels
  • emulsion gels
  • nanogels
  • vesicular gels
  • microgels

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 3446 KiB  
Article
Fluoride Release from Two Commercially Available Dental Fluoride Gels—In Vitro Study
by Paweł J. Piszko, Aleksandra Piszko, Sylwia Kiryk, Jan Kiryk, Julia Kensy, Mateusz Michalak, Jacek Matys and Maciej Dobrzyński
Gels 2025, 11(2), 135; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels11020135 - 14 Feb 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 683
Abstract
Fluoride has remained the most important ingredient in the prevention of tooth decay for many years. Therefore, fluoride prophylaxis should be highly individualized to provide patients with maximum benefits while minimizing the risk of toxic effects. This study aims to compare the degree [...] Read more.
Fluoride has remained the most important ingredient in the prevention of tooth decay for many years. Therefore, fluoride prophylaxis should be highly individualized to provide patients with maximum benefits while minimizing the risk of toxic effects. This study aims to compare the degree of fluoride ion release from two commercially available dental fluoride gels (Fluormex and Fluor Protector Gel) in five different physiological solutions as well as their effect on pH. The concentration of fluoride ions and pH of tap water, distilled water, demineralized water, NaCl, and artificial saliva were evaluated before and after 48 h after dissolving and incubating the same amounts of gels. The concentration of fluoride ions was higher in solutions containing Fluormex than Fluor Pro-tector Gel (p < 0.05), with the highest concentration in demineralized water (16,917 ppm). It was accompanied by a decrease in pH below the critical value of 5.5 in all solutions except tap water. Not only the composition of the gel but also the chemical composition of the environment affects the release of fluoride ions. No relationship was found between the change in pH and the concentration of fluoride ions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Optimization of Pharmaceutical Gels (2nd Edition))
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14 pages, 3872 KiB  
Article
Analgesic Effect of Sulforaphane: A New Application for Poloxamer-Hyaluronic Acid Hydrogels
by Juliana Zampoli Boava Papini, Bruno de Assis Esteves, Vagner Gomes de Souza Oliveira, Henrique Ballassani Abdalla, Cintia Maria Saia Cereda, Daniele Ribeiro de Araújo and Giovana Radomille Tofoli
Gels 2024, 10(7), 460; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels10070460 - 13 Jul 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1496
Abstract
Sulforaphane (SFN) has shown potential as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent. To improve its druggability, we developed new analgesic formulations with sulforaphane-loaded hyaluronic acid (HA)-poloxamer (PL) hydrogel. This study evaluated the pre-clinical safety and effectiveness of these formulations. Effectiveness was tested on Wistar [...] Read more.
Sulforaphane (SFN) has shown potential as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent. To improve its druggability, we developed new analgesic formulations with sulforaphane-loaded hyaluronic acid (HA)-poloxamer (PL) hydrogel. This study evaluated the pre-clinical safety and effectiveness of these formulations. Effectiveness was tested on Wistar rats divided into groups (n = 15) receiving (IM, 10 mg/kg) SFN formulations or control groups (without SFN). This study used a hind paw incision postoperative pain model to evaluate mechanical hypersensitivity with von Frey filaments. TNF-α, IL-1β, substance P, and CGRP levels verified anti-inflammatory activity in the hind paw tissue. Histopathology of tissues surrounding the injection site was assessed after 2 and 7 days post-treatment. To corroborate drug safety, cell viability of 3T3 and RAW 264.7 cultures was assessed. Additionally, RAW 264.7 cultures primed with carrageenan evaluated nitric oxide (NO) levels. All animals exhibited post-incisional hypersensitivity, and F2 (PL 407/338 (18/2%) + HA 1% + SFN 0.1%) showed a longer analgesic effect (p < 0.05). F2 reduced TNF-α, IL-1β, and CGRP levels (p < 0.05). Histopathological evaluation showed mild to moderate inflammatory reactions after the formulations’ injections. F2 produced no significant difference in cell viability (p > 0.05) but reduced NO production (p < 0.05). Thus, our results highlight the biocompatibility and effectiveness of F2. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Optimization of Pharmaceutical Gels (2nd Edition))
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23 pages, 19863 KiB  
Article
Enhancing Effector Jurkat Cell Activity and Increasing Cytotoxicity against A549 Cells Using Nivolumab as an Anti-PD-1 Agent Loaded on Gelatin Nanoparticles
by Dalia S. Ali, Heba A. Gad and Rania M. Hathout
Gels 2024, 10(6), 352; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels10060352 - 21 May 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3211
Abstract
The current research investigated the use of gelatin nanoparticles (GNPs) for enhancing the cytotoxic effects of nivolumab, an immune checkpoint inhibitor. The unique feature of GNPs is their biocompatibility and functionalization potential, improving the delivery and the efficacy of immunotherapeutic drugs with fewer [...] Read more.
The current research investigated the use of gelatin nanoparticles (GNPs) for enhancing the cytotoxic effects of nivolumab, an immune checkpoint inhibitor. The unique feature of GNPs is their biocompatibility and functionalization potential, improving the delivery and the efficacy of immunotherapeutic drugs with fewer side effects compared to traditional treatments. This exploration of GNPs represents an innovative direction in the advancement of nanomedicine in oncology. Nivolumab-loaded GNPs were prepared and characterized. The optimum formulation had a particle size of 191.9 ± 0.67 nm, a polydispersity index of 0.027 ± 0.02, and drug entrapment of 54.67 ± 3.51%. A co-culture experiment involving A549 target cells and effector Jurkat cells treated with free nivolumab solution, and nivolumab-loaded GNPs, demonstrated that the latter had significant improvements in inhibition rate by scoring 87.88 ± 2.47% for drug-loaded GNPs against 60.53 ± 3.96% for the free nivolumab solution. The nivolumab-loaded GNPs had a lower IC50 value, of 0.41 ± 0.01 µM, compared to free nivolumab solution (1.22 ± 0.37 µM) at 72 h. The results indicate that administering nivolumab-loaded GNPs augmented the cytotoxicity against A549 cells by enhancing effector Jurkat cell activity compared to nivolumab solution treatment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Optimization of Pharmaceutical Gels (2nd Edition))
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