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Gels
Special Issues
Polymer-Based Hydrogels Applied in Drug Delivery
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Polymer-Based Hydrogels Applied in Drug Delivery

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 6082

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Laura Nižić Nodilo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, University of Zagreb, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia
Interests: in situ gelling system; nasal drug delivery; dermal drug delivery; hydrogels; spray drying; microspheres; mucoadhesion; rheology
Prof. Dr. Mario Jug

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, University of Zagreb, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia
Interests: cyclodextrins; solubility; controlled release; oromucosal drug delivery; spray drying; mucoadhesion
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Hydrogels have gathered significant attention across a wide array of scientific disciplines, demonstrating their versatility and potential in numerous applications. They highlight a prospective area, with a constant increase in the number of articles describing innovative research. As a result, we are excited to announce the Special Issue titled "Polymer-Based Hydrogels Applied in Drug Delivery".

This Special Issue aims to highlight the most novel advancements in drug delivery systems formulated as hydrogels. The focus will be on innovations in the design of hydrogel-based formulations as well as the methods for their characterization. The developed hydrogels may be designed for all of the drug delivery routes, including ophthalmic, nasal, buccal, sublingual, oral, pulmonary, and vaginal routes, and may contain various polymers, both synthetic and from natural sources. Contributions addressing composite and hybrid systems as well as nanogels, in situ gels, and powder systems that gel at the site of application are highly anticipated.

We particularly encourage submissions that investigate novel aspects of hydrogel performance, with a focus on optimizing administration, enhancing safety profiles, and improving targeted drug delivery.

We believe that this Special Issue will serve as an important resource for researchers striving to advance the fields of pharmaceutics and hydrogel science. We cordially invite you to submit your original research articles and review papers for consideration.

Dr. Laura Nižić Nodilo
Prof. Dr. Mario Jug
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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

  • polymer-based hydrogel
  • controlled drug release
  • targeted drug delivery
  • rheological characterization
  • viscoelastic systems
  • texture analysis
  • biocompatibility
  • muco-adhesion
  • natural polymers
  • novel (multi)functional polymers

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

25 pages, 2369 KB  
Article
Structure–Property Relationships in Symmetrical Bolaamphiphilic Dehydrodipeptides: Self-Assembled Injectable Hydrogels for Anticancer Drug Delivery
by Carolina Amorim, André Carvalho, Pedro R. Figueiredo, Alexandra T. P. Carvalho, Loic Hilliou, David M. Pereira, Helena S. Azevedo, José A. Martins and Paula M. T. Ferreira
Gels 2026, 12(4), 306; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels12040306 - 3 Apr 2026
Viewed by 558
Abstract
Peptide-based supramolecular hydrogels have emerged as promising biomaterials due to inherent biocompatibility, tunable self-assembly, and structural similarity to the extracellular matrix. This work describes the design, synthesis and characterization of a library of symmetrical bolaamphiphiles based on dehydropeptides, systematically varying both the dehydroamino [...] Read more.
Peptide-based supramolecular hydrogels have emerged as promising biomaterials due to inherent biocompatibility, tunable self-assembly, and structural similarity to the extracellular matrix. This work describes the design, synthesis and characterization of a library of symmetrical bolaamphiphiles based on dehydropeptides, systematically varying both the dehydroamino acid residue and the linker. Aromatic and aliphatic dicarboxylic acids with distinct rigidities were employed to elucidate their influence on molecular self-assembly, hydrogelation, and functional performance. Hydrogel formation was triggered using a pH-responsive approach, and critical aggregation and gelation concentrations were determined. Morphological analysis by transmission electron microscopy revealed dense fibrillar networks with nanometer-scale fiber diameters, while rheological studies demonstrated viscoelastic behavior, tunable mechanical strength, and, in selected systems, efficient self-healing properties. The incorporation of phenylalanyldehydrophenylalanine significantly enhanced hydrogel formation, highlighting the importance of π–π interactions and hydrophobicity. Biological evaluation using HaCaT keratinocytes confirmed low cytotoxicity across the series. A representative injectable hydrogel exhibited sustained release of the anticancer drug methotrexate, governed predominantly by Fickian diffusion. These results establish clear structure–property–function relationships and demonstrate the potential of symmetrical bolaamphiphilic dehydropeptides as versatile platforms for controlled drug delivery. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer-Based Hydrogels Applied in Drug Delivery)
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20 pages, 3410 KB  
Article
A Natural Antioxidant-Rich Hydrogel Formulation with Laurus nobilis Hydrosol: Physicochemical and Cosmeceutical Evaluation
by Lea Juretić, Radwan Joukhadar, Emerik Galić, Renata Jurišić Grubešić and Mario Jug
Gels 2026, 12(2), 165; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels12020165 - 14 Feb 2026
Viewed by 770
Abstract
Laurus nobilis hydrosol (HyLN), a water-soluble byproduct of essential oil extraction, containing beneficial antioxidants and antimicrobial compounds, was used as a sustainable ingredient in the development of a natural antioxidant-rich hydrogel formulation. Hydrogels were formulated using sodium hyaluronate and xanthan gum, natural ingredients [...] Read more.
Laurus nobilis hydrosol (HyLN), a water-soluble byproduct of essential oil extraction, containing beneficial antioxidants and antimicrobial compounds, was used as a sustainable ingredient in the development of a natural antioxidant-rich hydrogel formulation. Hydrogels were formulated using sodium hyaluronate and xanthan gum, natural ingredients with beneficial effects on the skin, while β-cyclodextrin (βCD) was added to enhance the stability of antioxidants in HyLN. Extensive rheological and textural analyses were employed to optimize the hydrogel formulation for dermal administration, while stability studies assessed the chemical and physical stability of developed formulations. A combination of sodium hyaluronate and xanthan gum provided several HyLN hydrogel formulations with tunable rheological and textural properties, presenting adequate physical and microbiological stability over 6 months of storage. The use of βCD failed to stabilize inherently unstable antioxidants in HyLN hydrogels, yet their residual antioxidant activity remained notable. An in vitro scratch test using a human keratinocyte cell line showed that the developed HyLN gel does not interfere with wound healing. HyLN hydrogels showed a pronounced occlusive effect in vitro, reaching up to 80% of that measured for Vaseline, which helps maintain skin hydration and appearance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer-Based Hydrogels Applied in Drug Delivery)
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24 pages, 2480 KB  
Article
Development and Characterization of In Situ Gelling Nasal Cilostazol Spanlastics
by Maryana Salamah, Mária Budai-Szűcs, Bence Sipos, Balázs Volk, Gábor Katona, György Tibor Balogh and Ildikó Csóka
Gels 2025, 11(2), 82; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels11020082 - 22 Jan 2025
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3912
Abstract
Cilostazol (CIL), a BCS class II antiplatelet aggregation and vasodilator agent, is used for cerebrovascular diseases to minimize blood–brain barrier dysfunction, white matter-lesion formation, and motor deficits. The current work aimed to develop and optimize cilostazol-loaded spanlastics (CIL-SPA) for nose-to-brain delivery to overcome [...] Read more.
Cilostazol (CIL), a BCS class II antiplatelet aggregation and vasodilator agent, is used for cerebrovascular diseases to minimize blood–brain barrier dysfunction, white matter-lesion formation, and motor deficits. The current work aimed to develop and optimize cilostazol-loaded spanlastics (CIL-SPA) for nose-to-brain delivery to overcome the low solubility and absorption, the first pass-metabolism, and the adverse effects. The optimal CIL-SPA formulation was loaded into Phytagel® (SPA-PG), Poloxamer-407 (SPA-P407), and chitosan (SPA-CS) gel bases and characterized in terms of colloidal properties, encapsulation efficiency (EE%), mucoadhesive properties, and biopharmaceutical aspects. The developed in situ gelling formulations showed a <300 nm average hydrodynamic diameter, <0.5 polydispersity index, and >|±30| mV zeta potential with a high EE% (>99%). All formulations met the droplet size-distribution criteria of nasal requirements (<200 µm), and all formulations showed adequate mucoadhesion properties. Both the BBB-PAMPA and horizontal permeability study through an artificial membrane revealed that all formulations had higher CIL flux and cumulative permeability at in vitro nose-to-brain conditions compared to the initial CIL. The in vitro drug-release study showed that all formulations released ca. 100% of CIL after 2 h. Therefore, the developed formulations could be promising for improving the low bioavailability of CIL through nose-to-brain delivery. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer-Based Hydrogels Applied in Drug Delivery)
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