The Role of Mucus Gel Layer in Drug and Nutraceutical Delivery
A special issue of Gels (ISSN 2310-2861). This special issue belongs to the section "Gel Applications".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2023) | Viewed by 4066
Special Issue Editor
Interests: food chemistry; mucin; bioactive peptide; bioavailability; food protein; functional food; food processing; anti-adhesive activity
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
I invite you to submit your manuscripts for this Special Issue in Gels entitled “The Role of Mucus Gel Layer in Drug and Nutraceutical Delivery”. The purpose of this Special Issue is to discuss recent research findings and perspectives on the enhanced drug and nutraceutical delivery to epithelium by mucoadhesive and mucus permeating strategies.
A mucus layer is a viscoelastic hydrogel that covers the epithelium in the linings of the eyes, as well as the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and female reproductive tracts. Mucus protects the underlying epithelial cells by functioning as a barrier that prevents foreign substances, such as pathogens, from penetrating. On the other hand, a mucus layer impedes the transport of drugs, nutraceuticals, and other molecules, such as food-derived bioactive compounds across membranes of the epithelial cells, which limits their absorption and oral bioavailability. Development of delivery technologies, such as mucus permeating and mucoadhesive delivery systems, holds great promise for addressing this challenge. Therefore, this Special Issue of Gels will publish high-quality and in-depth original research papers, comprehensive, and critical reviews, as well as perspective articles in this field.
Topics covered by the Special Issue include, but are not limited to:
- Development of novel mucoadhesive drug and nutraceutical delivery systems;
- Development of novel mucus permeating drug and nutraceutical delivery systems;
- Investigation of the absorption and bioavailability of drugs and nutraceuticals using in vitro, ex vivo, or in vivo models containing mucus layers;
- Elucidating the mechanisms of drugs, nutraceuticals, or bioactive compounds interacting with mucins and penetrating the mucus layer prior to transporting across the underlying epithelium.
Dr. Xiaohong Sun
Guest Editor
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
- mucus layer
- oral bioavailability
- mucus permeating delivery system
- mucoadhesive delivery system
- mucus in vitro model
- drug
- nutraceutical
- food-derived bioactive compound
