Special Issue "Porous Micro and Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery"

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 February 2020.

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Pablo Gaviña
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Instituto Interuniversitario de Reconocimiento Molecular y Desarrollo Tecnológico (IDM), Universitat de València, Doctor Moliner 50, Burjassot, 46100, Valencia, Spain
Tel. 34 963543740
Interests: gated mesoporous materials; drug delivery; molecular sensing; chromo and fluorogenic chemosensors and probes; molecular recognition
Prof. Dr. Margarita Parra
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Instituto Interuniversitario de Reconocimiento Molecular y Desarrollo Tecnológico (IDM), Universitat de València, Doctor Moliner 50, Burjassot, 46100, Valencia, Spain
Interests: gated mesoporous materials; drug delivery; molecular sensing; chromo and fluorogenic chemosensors and probes; molecular recognition
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Although the fields of molecular, biomolecular, and supramolecular chemistry and inorganic materials have traditionally been poorly interrelated, research into this cross-disciplinary region has recently emerged almost exponentially and has resulted in a many novel hybrid materials with advanced functions in a surprisingly short time. Among the different inorganic solids, much attention has been given to porous materials in both fundamental and applied research. In this scenario, gated nanochemistry is a highly topical tool that has been applied to the design of new advanced functions by means of mass transport control in nanometric terms. In recent years, gated supports have proven excellent candidates for designing controlled-release systems for different applications, including drug delivery and sensing.

This Special Issue aims to collect the latest advances and state-of-the-art in the field of controlled drug delivery, using porous nano- or microparticles as drug carriers. The combination of these materials with selective molecular gates, which open only on the site of action as a result of some target stimulus, is expected to improve drug bioavailability and reduce drug toxicity.

Prof. Dr. Pablo Gaviña
Prof. Dr. Margarita Parra
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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 1800 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

  • porous materials
  • gated materials
  • micro and nanoparticles
  • drug delivery
  • controlled release
  • biomedical applications

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

Open AccessArticle
Poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) Hollow Nanoparticles with Surface Sealability and On-Demand Pore Generability for Easy Loading and NIR Light-Triggered Release of Drug
Pharmaceutics 2019, 11(10), 528; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics11100528 - 13 Oct 2019
Abstract
A new system for the easy loading and NIR light-triggered release of drugs is introduced. It consists of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) hollow nanoparticles with surface openings containing a biodegradable fatty acid with phase-change ability and a biocompatible photothermal agent. These openings, which can enhance [...] Read more.
A new system for the easy loading and NIR light-triggered release of drugs is introduced. It consists of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) hollow nanoparticles with surface openings containing a biodegradable fatty acid with phase-change ability and a biocompatible photothermal agent. These openings, which can enhance the connectivity between the interior and the exterior, enable the easy loading of drug molecules into the interior voids, and their successive sealing ensures a stable encapsulation of the drug. Upon exposure to an external NIR light irradiation, the photothermal agent generates heat that raises the local temperature of the hollow particles above the melting point of the fatty acid, leading to the formation of nanopores on their shells, and consequently, the instant release of the encapsulated drug molecules through the pores. The synergistic activity of the hyperthermia effect from the photothermal agent and the NIR-triggered release of the drug molecules results in noticeable anticancer efficacy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Porous Micro and Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery)
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Open AccessArticle
Rationally Designed Dendritic Silica Nanoparticles for Oral Delivery of Exenatide
Pharmaceutics 2019, 11(8), 418; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics11080418 - 19 Aug 2019
Cited by 1
Abstract
Type 2 diabetes makes up approximately 85% of all diabetic cases and it is linked to approximately one-third of all hospitalisations. Newer therapies with long-acting biologics such as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogues have been promising in managing the disease, but they cannot reverse [...] Read more.
Type 2 diabetes makes up approximately 85% of all diabetic cases and it is linked to approximately one-third of all hospitalisations. Newer therapies with long-acting biologics such as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogues have been promising in managing the disease, but they cannot reverse the pathology of the disease. Additionally, their parenteral administration is often associated with high healthcare costs, risk of infections, and poor patient adherence associated with phobia of needles. Oral delivery of these compounds would significantly improve patient compliance; however, poor enzymatic stability and low permeability across the gastrointestinal tract makes this task challenging. In the present work, large pore dendritic silica nanoparticles (DSNPs) with a pore size of ~10 nm were prepared, functionalized, and optimized in order to achieve high peptide loading and improve intestinal permeation of exenatide, a GLP-1 analogue. Compared to the loading capacity of the most popular, Mobil Composition of Matter No. 41 (MCM-41) with small pores, DSNPs showed significantly high loading owing to their large and dendritic pore structure. Among the tested DSNPs, pristine and phosphonate-modified DSNPs (PDSNPs) displayed remarkable loading of 40 and 35% w/w, respectively. Furthermore, particles successfully coated with positively charged chitosan reduced the burst release of exenatide at both pH 1.2 and 6.8. Compared with free exenatide, both chitosan-coated and uncoated PDSNPs enhanced exenatide transport through the Caco-2 monolayer by 1.7 fold. Interestingly, when a triple co-culture model of intestinal permeation was used, chitosan-coated PDSNPs performed better compared to both PDSNPs and free exenatide, which corroborated our hypothesis behind using chitosan to interact with mucus and improve permeation. These results indicate the emerging role of large pore silica nanoparticles as promising platforms for oral delivery of biologics such as exenatide. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Porous Micro and Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery)
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