Biomaterials for Drug Delivery and Advanced In Vitro Models in Pharmaceutical Research

A special issue of Pharmaceutics (ISSN 1999-4923).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 January 2027 | Viewed by 1918

Editors


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Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering “G. Natta”, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milan, Italy
Interests: biomaterials; scaffold fabrication; regenerative medicine; natural polymers
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Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (DIMEAS), Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Turin, Italy
Interests: biofabrication; in vitro modeling
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The development of advanced biomaterials and micro- and nanotechnologies is playing an increasingly important role in pharmaceutical sciences, particularly in the design of innovative drug delivery systems and predictive platforms for drug evaluation. These approaches are contributing to improved drug efficacy, targeted delivery, and enhanced patient-specific therapies.

This joint Special Issue between Pharmaceutics and Nanomaterials aims to highlight recent advances in the development and application of materials and technologies for pharmaceutical purposes, with a particular focus on:

  1. the design, formulation, and characterization of drug delivery systems, including nano- and micro-carriers, hydrogels, and stimuli-responsive materials;
  2. advanced in vitro models for drug testing and screening, such as organoids and organ-on-chip systems, with relevance to drug development and pharmacological studies;
  3. the interaction between nanomaterials and biological systems in a pharmaceutical context, including their impact on drug delivery performance, safety, and toxicity.

By bridging material science and pharmaceutics, this Special Issue seeks to provide insights into next-generation strategies for drug delivery and evaluation, fostering translational approaches in pharmaceutical research.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Nanomaterials.

Dr. Lorenza Draghi
Dr. Clara Mattu
Dr. Viola Sgarminato
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • nano- and micro-particles
  • hydrogels
  • nano- and micro-gels
  • tissue models
  • organ-on-chips
  • organoids
  • pollutants
  • drug screening
  • delivery of small and biological drugs
  • gene therapy

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

28 pages, 5006 KB  
Article
Gold-Doped Hybrid Nanoparticles: A Versatile Tool for Multimodal Imaging of Cell Trafficking
by Andrea Bezze, Jessica Ponti, Deborah Stanco, Carlotta Mattioda and Clara Mattu
Pharmaceutics 2025, 17(12), 1612; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics17121612 - 15 Dec 2025
Viewed by 1302
Abstract
Background: Nanomedicine has demonstrated great potential to improve drug delivery across various diseases. However, accurately monitoring the real-time trafficking of organic nanoparticles (NPs) within biological systems remains a significant challenge. Current detection methods rely heavily on fluorescence, while high-resolution, label-free imaging is often [...] Read more.
Background: Nanomedicine has demonstrated great potential to improve drug delivery across various diseases. However, accurately monitoring the real-time trafficking of organic nanoparticles (NPs) within biological systems remains a significant challenge. Current detection methods rely heavily on fluorescence, while high-resolution, label-free imaging is often precluded by the limited optical contrast of organic materials, limiting a comprehensive understanding of NP fate. Metallic doping allows simultaneous detection of carriers using multiple imaging and analysis techniques. This study presents a novel approach to prepare gold-doped hybrid NPs compatible with multimodal imaging, thus facilitating multimodal tracking. Methods: Gold-doped NPs were successfully synthesized via nanoprecipitation, yielding stable, monodisperse carriers with optimal size, confirmed by Dynamic Light Scattering and Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis. UV/Vis spectroscopy confirmed effective gold-doping, with doping efficiency of approximately 50%. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) showed gold NP accumulation throughout the polymer core and near the lipid shell. Results: Although gold doping resulted in a slight increase in NP size and zeta potential, no effects on cytocompatibility or cellular uptake by glioblastoma and microglia cells were observed. Furthermore, the optical properties (i.e., the refractive index and the UV spectrum) of the NPs were successfully modified to enable tracking across complementary imaging modalities. Real-time, label-free visualization of NP accumulation in the cytoplasm of U87 cells was achieved via holotomography by exploiting the enhanced refractive index after gold-doping. This observation was confirmed through correlation with fluorescence confocal microscopy, using fluorescently labelled gold-doped NPs. Furthermore, the high electron density of the gold tracer facilitated the precise localization of NPs within intracellular compartments via TEM, bypassing the inherently low contrast of organic NPs. Conclusions: These findings validated the gold-doped NPs as versatile nanoplatforms for multimodal imaging, showcasing their potential for non-invasive, high-resolution tracking and more accurate quantification of intracellular accumulation using diverse analytical techniques. Full article
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