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Pharmaceutics
Special Issues
Microparticle-Based Drug Delivery Systems
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Microparticle-Based 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: 31 July 2026 | Viewed by 1034

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Elżbieta Pamuła

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Guest Editor
Department of Biomaterials and Composites, Faculty of Materials Science and Ceramics, AGH University of Krakow, 30-059 Krakow, Al Mickiewicza 30, Poland
Interests: degradable polymers; drug delivery systems; inhalable formulations; microparticles; nanoparticles; hydrogels; scaffolds
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Daria Niewolik

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Physical Chemistry and Technology of Polymers, Silesian University of Technology, M. Strzody 9, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland
Interests: polyanhydrides; microspheres; cytostatic activity; controlled drug delivery systems; biodegradable polymers; micelles

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, intensive research has been conducted on controlled drug release systems. The use of drug carriers in the treatment of many diseases brings a number of benefits, such as increasing therapeutic effectiveness while reducing the dose used; reducing toxicity; the ability to administer a constant, precisely defined dose of drugs for a long period of time; and control of a drug's biodistribution and its pharmacokinetics.

Microparticles are a useful form of drug delivery system because they can be used to encapsulate, protect, and control the release of a wide range of drugs. Microspheres have been investigated for use in the controlled release of drugs, such as chemotherapeutic agents, local anesthetics, anticoagulants, neuroactive drugs, and anticancer agents. They can be easily administered orally, in the form of injections, or as inhalable pulmonary systems. When delivered with use of a microparticle system, toxic and insoluble drugs can be administered at lower frequency and in smaller quantity.

Microparticles can be obtained from a range of materials, including biodegradable polymers. The advantage of using biodegradable polymers is their ease of removal of the degradation products from the organism due to their low molecular weight. Furthermore, by controlling the rate of polymer degradation, it is possible to manipulate the rate of release of active substances.

This Special Issue aims to showcase research regarding preparing and characterizing novel microparticle-based carriers for the delivery of biologically active compounds. Detailed characteristics of such drug delivery systems in the context of potential applications, and deeper discussions on the relationship between the surface morphology of microparticles and the properties of the carriers obtained from them, are also welcome.

Prof. Dr. Elżbieta Pamuła
Dr. Daria Niewolik
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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. Pharmaceutics 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 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

  • drug delivery systems
  • microparticles
  • biodegradable polymers
  • bioactive compounds
  • biomedical applications
  • biocompatibility
  • biological properties

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

32 pages, 7266 KB  
Article
Alginate–Polymethacrylate Hybrid Microparticles as Multi-Unit Enteric Drug Carriers for Posaconazole
by Katarzyna Kruk, Marta Szekalska, Eliza Wolska, Iwona Misztalewska-Turkowicz, Karolina Halina Markiewicz, Jolanta Magnuszewska, Agnieszka Zofia Wilczewska and Katarzyna Winnicka
Pharmaceutics 2026, 18(4), 467; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics18040467 - 11 Apr 2026
Viewed by 515
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Enteric drug forms are developed to delay drug release to avoid drug degradation in the acidic environment of the stomach or to prevent irritation of the stomach mucosa. The bioavailability of posaconazole (POS) after oral administration depends on stomach pH and [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Enteric drug forms are developed to delay drug release to avoid drug degradation in the acidic environment of the stomach or to prevent irritation of the stomach mucosa. The bioavailability of posaconazole (POS) after oral administration depends on stomach pH and food intake. Delayed-release tablets and unmodified oral suspension are the POS formulations currently available on the market. The oral suspension formulation is characterized by highly variable bioavailability, which may significantly affect therapy effectiveness. Methods: In this study, multi-unit drug forms with delayed and sustained POS release were designed. Polymeric microparticles consisting of sodium alginate (ALG), methacrylic acid–ethyl acrylate copolymer (EUD), or both, were prepared using the spray-drying technique. The formulations that met the pharmacopoeia enteric release standards in the in vitro dissolution test were subjected to further in vitro evaluation via swelling and mucoadhesion assays, an antifungal activity test, attenuated total reflectance–Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), and thermal analysis. Results: It was shown that EUD formulations at concentrations of 5% and 6% provided enteric release, whereas ALG at 1.5% concentration exhibited a sustained, although not delayed, POS release profile. The optimal blended formulations (EAP15–EAP18), comprising 4% EUD with 1.5–2.0% ALG and either 1% or 4% POS, met the pharmacopoeia criteria for enteric dosage forms. Furthermore, these blends demonstrated the most favorable sustained-release profiles in the buffer phase, ranging from 2 to 3 h. The microparticles exhibited beneficial swelling and mucoadhesive properties, which are essential for prolonging contact with the intestinal mucosa; combined with antifungal properties. Conclusions: Obtained carrier may provide a promising preliminary basis for developing a multi-unit, sustained-release enteric dosage form for POS and future in vivo investigations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microparticle-Based Drug Delivery Systems)
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