Polysaccharide Gels: Application 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 June 2025 | Viewed by 2609

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Chemical Kinetics, "Ilie Murgulescu" Institute of Physical Chemistry, Romanian Academy, 060021 Bucharest, Romania
Interests: physical chemistry; physico-chemical characterization of materials; drug delivery; pharmaceuticals development; thermal analysis; kinetics; biopolymers; cyclodextrin inclusion complexes; hydrogels; biomaterials for biomedical applications; oxide materials design/synthesis and the thermoreactivity of precursor–oxide transformations; green chemistry; thermal properties; physicochemical characterization; nanomaterials for biomedicine; nanomaterials for energy applications; catalysis; biopolymer-based hydrogels enhanced with natural extracts for the biomedical and food industry, pharmaceutical form, biomass, and combustion
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Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, Hassan II University of Casablanca, Casablanca 20000, Morocco
Interests: biomaterials; microneedle; natural polysaccharide; drug delivery

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Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, Hassan II University of Casablanca, Casablanca 20000, Morocco
Interests: hydrogel; biomaterials; microneedle; natural polysaccharide; drug delivery

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The application of polysaccharide gels in drug delivery is a significant area of research with wide-ranging implications. Polysaccharides, such as alginate, chitosan, and hyaluronic acid, offer unique properties that make them attractive for drug delivery applications. These biocompatible and biodegradable materials can form gels through various mechanisms, including physical interactions, chemical crosslinking, or environmental stimuli. In drug delivery, polysaccharide gels serve as versatile matrices for encapsulating and delivering therapeutic agents. They can control the release of drugs, protect them from degradation, and target specific sites within the body. Additionally, polysaccharide gels can be engineered to respond to physiological cues, enabling a triggered release of drugs in response to changes in pH, temperature, or enzyme activity.

This Special Issue on polysaccharide gels in drug delivery explores the latest advancements, challenges, and opportunities in this field. It covers topics such as the design and characterization of polysaccharide-based delivery systems, strategies for enhancing drug loading and release kinetics, and the application of polysaccharide gels in treating various diseases, including cancer, infections, and inflammatory disorders.

Contributions to this Special Issue may include original research articles, reviews, and perspectives that shed light on the potential of polysaccharide gels as effective carriers for delivering therapeutic agents. By addressing key issues and highlighting recent breakthroughs, this Special Issue aims to advance our understanding of polysaccharide-based drug delivery systems and their impact on healthcare.

Dr. Adina Musuc
Dr. Damiri Fouad
Prof. Dr. Mohammed Berrada
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • polysaccharides
  • drug delivery
  • biomaterials
  • encapsulation
  • controlled release
  • biocompatibility
  • biodegradability
  • targeted delivery
  • hydrogels
  • therapeutic agents
  • pharmaceutical applications

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Review

22 pages, 5481 KiB  
Review
Recent Advances in Polysaccharide-Based Hydrogels for Tumor Immunotherapy
by Youxi Zhou, Kaizhao Chen, Hongwei Cheng and Shuaishuai Zhang
Gels 2025, 11(3), 152; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels11030152 - 20 Feb 2025
Viewed by 638
Abstract
Immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer treatment and led to a significant increase in patient survival rates and quality of life. However, the effectiveness of current immunotherapies is limited by various factors, including immune evasion mechanisms and serious side effects. Hydrogels are a type of [...] Read more.
Immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer treatment and led to a significant increase in patient survival rates and quality of life. However, the effectiveness of current immunotherapies is limited by various factors, including immune evasion mechanisms and serious side effects. Hydrogels are a type of medical material with an ideal biocompatibility, variable structure, flexible synthesis method, and physical properties. Hydrogels have long been recognized and used as a superior choice for various biomedical applications. The fascinating results were derived from both in vitro and in vivo models. The rapid expansion of this area suggests that the principles and uses of functionalized polysaccharides are transformative, motivating researchers to investigate novel polysaccharide-based hydrogels for wider applications. Polysaccharide hydrogels have proven to be a practicable delivery strategy for tumor immunotherapy due to their biocompatibility, biodegradability, and pronounced bioactive characteristics. This study aims to examine in detail the latest developments of polysaccharide hydrogels in tumor immunotherapy, focusing on their design, mechanism of action, and potential therapeutic applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polysaccharide Gels: Application in Drug Delivery)
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34 pages, 7027 KiB  
Review
Polysaccharide-Based Drug Carriers—A Patent Analysis
by Snežana Ilić-Stojanović, Fouad Damiri, Adina Magdalena Musuc and Mohammed Berrada
Gels 2024, 10(12), 801; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels10120801 - 6 Dec 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1280
Abstract
Polysaccharide-based carriers as biomaterials for drug delivery have been inspiring scientists for years due to their exceptional characteristics, such as nontoxicity, biocompatibility, and degradability, as they are able to protect pharmaceutically active molecules and provide their controlled/modified release. This review focuses on selected [...] Read more.
Polysaccharide-based carriers as biomaterials for drug delivery have been inspiring scientists for years due to their exceptional characteristics, such as nontoxicity, biocompatibility, and degradability, as they are able to protect pharmaceutically active molecules and provide their controlled/modified release. This review focuses on selected drug delivery systems based on natural polymers, namely fucoidan, pullulan, dextran, and pectin, with the aim of highlighting published patent documents. The information contained in patents is very important because it is usually not published in any other document and is much less discussed as the state of the art in the scientific literature. The Espacenet—European Patent Office database and the International Patent Classification were used for the research to highlight the specific search procedure. The presented analysis of the innovative state of the art includes an overview from the first patent applications to the latest granted patents in this field. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polysaccharide Gels: Application in Drug Delivery)
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