Hydrogels for Localized and Controlled Drug Delivery
A special issue of Pharmaceutics (ISSN 1999-4923). This special issue belongs to the section "Drug Delivery and Controlled Release".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2026
Special Issue Editors
Interests: pharmaceutical technology; formulation; biomaterials; hydrogels; nanoparticles; polymorphism
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: biomaterials; polymer synthesis; hydrogels; nanoparticles; gene and drug delivery; therapeutics stability
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Hydrogels represent a rapidly advancing class of biomaterials with broad applicability in pharmaceutical sciences. Their highly hydrated, tunable three-dimensional networks allow for the encapsulation of diverse therapeutic agents, ranging from small molecules to biologics, while enabling spatiotemporally controlled release. This Special Issue will focus on recent progress in hydrogel design and functionalization aimed at improving drug stability, release kinetics, and site-specific delivery. Particular emphasis will be given to smart or stimuli-responsive hydrogels, injectable and in situ forming systems, hybrid and nanocomposite formulations, and advanced crosslinking strategies. Contributions addressing mechanistic insights into drug–matrix interactions, scale-up and manufacturing considerations, and translational studies bridging preclinical models to clinical applications are especially welcome. By consolidating innovative approaches across pharmaceutics, polymer chemistry, and biomedical engineering, this Special Issue will provide a comprehensive overview of hydrogel-based platforms as next-generation drug delivery systems.
Dr. Roberta Censi
Dr. Cristina Casadidio
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.
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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 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
- hydrogels
- drug Delivery
- cancer
- tissue engineering
- wound healing
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