Biodegradable Hydrogels with Potential Biomedical Applications as Drug Delivery Systems

A special issue of Pharmaceutics (ISSN 1999-4923). This special issue belongs to the section "Drug Delivery and Controlled Release".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 July 2025 | Viewed by 1499

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
1. Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Siena, Via Aldo Moro 3, 53100 Siena, Italy
2. National Interuniversity Consortium (INSTM), Florence, Italy
3. Center for Colloids and Surface Science (CSGI), Florence, Italy
Interests: biomaterials; hydrogels; nanocarriers; biosensors; surface characterization; regenerative medicine; hyaluronic acid
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Siena, Via Aldo Moro 3, 53100 Siena, Italy
2. Center for Colloids and Surface Science (CSGI), Florence, Italy
Interests: nanovectors; drug delivery; nanosystems; soft matter; material characterization

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Siena, Via Aldo Moro 3, 53100 Siena, Italy
2. Center for Colloids and Surface Science (CSGI), Florence, Italy
Interests: hydrogel; biomaterials; biodegradable polymers; formulation technology; material characterization; polymer nanoscience

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Center for Colloids and Surface Science (CSGI), University of Florence, Via della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
Interests: gels; biopolymers; biomaterials; carbohydrate polymers; nanomaterials

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Biodegradable hydrogels are green, multi-purpose materials that have been receiving increasing attention in recent years in the field of biomedical and pharmaceutical applications. Due to their biocompatibility and their possible impartation of responsiveness to a variety of external stimuli (such as pH, temperature, ionic strength, and even inflammatory processes), they find beneficial applications in drug delivery. The physicochemical properties of the hydrogels can be finely tailored to achieve a precise control over the delivery and targeted release of bioactive molecules.

This Special Issue aims to showcase the recent developments in the rapidly expanding field of biodegradable and hybrid hydrogels for drug delivery. A special focus will be dedicated to papers that present innovative research on synthetic methods and formulation strategies, the fine-tuning of responsiveness for controlled drug release, targeting, and biodegradation, and novel applications in upcoming fields such as nutraceuticals. Original research papers dealing with the physicochemical characterization of biodegradable, self-healing hydrogels and hybrid hydrogels derived from renewable resources for pharmaceutical applications are also welcome.

We believe that the topic of this Special Issue can promote innovative and collaborative research, capturing the interest of a wide audience across various disciplines, spanning from colloids to pharmaceutics.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Agnese Magnani
Dr. Ilaria Clemente
Dr. Duccio Tatini
Dr. Vanessa Rosciardi
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • biodegradable and hybrid hydrogels
  • drug delivery
  • smart biomaterials
  • stimuli-sensitive
  • multi-responsive
  • self-healing
  • nanocomposites
  • targeted release
  • controlled degradation
  • natural polymers
  • functionalization and characterization strategies
  • renewable materials

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

12 pages, 2631 KiB  
Article
Stability Studies of a Tetraethyl Orthosilicate-Based Thixotropic Drug Delivery System
by Emma Barrett-Catton, Elizabeth M. Arrigali, Bogdan A. Serban, Kolton C. Sandau and Monica A. Serban
Pharmaceutics 2024, 16(11), 1392; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics16111392 - 29 Oct 2024
Viewed by 828
Abstract
Background/Objectives: This study assessed the effects of formulation components on the long-term stability of a previously described tetraethyl orthosilicate-based drug delivery system. Early stability studies of a product concept are crucial not only to provide information on the overall system stability and individual [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: This study assessed the effects of formulation components on the long-term stability of a previously described tetraethyl orthosilicate-based drug delivery system. Early stability studies of a product concept are crucial not only to provide information on the overall system stability and individual components’ contributions to it, but also to identify opportunities for dosage form optimization and to define its use case. Methods: We assessed the time-dependent thixogel properties—specifically, mechanical strength, thixotropy, release of model drug, and dry substance—in both real-time and accelerated shelf-life determination set-ups. Results: Our findings indicate that the concentration and molecular weight of hyaluronic acid, one of the main constituents of the investigated thixotropic systems, are key determinants of formulation stability. We further showed that changes in both of these parameters reflect on the drug release properties and stiffness of the formulation and could inform subsequent product development based on several use cases. Conclusions: Overall, this study provides an understanding of some key factors that would need to be considered prior to and in the final product development process of thixogels in preparation for commercialization. Full article
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