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Advanced Hydrogels for Controlled Drug Delivery (2nd Edition)
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Advanced Hydrogels for Controlled Drug Delivery (2nd Edition)

A special issue of Gels (ISSN 2310-2861). This special issue belongs to the section "Gel Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2025 | Viewed by 2245

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Akira Matsumoto

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Biomaterials and Bioengineering, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo 101-0062, Japan
Interests: polymer gel; gel; boronic acids; drug delivery systems; biosensors; microneedles
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

I am inviting you to contribute to a Special Issue of Gels entitled “Advanced Hydrogels for Controlled Drug Delivery”.

Gels remain at the forefront of soft matter science and engineering research. Due to their rich diversity of chain–solvent combinations, gels provide ever-growing options for exploring basic and applied chemistry, materials science, food science, pharmaceutical science and medicine. As open systems capable of exchanging energy and substances with their surroundings, gels have long served as a research platform for chemo-mechanical systems and drug delivery applications. Recent findings in vaccine immunology highlight the importance of “dose scheduling”, i.e., the spatiotemporal control of immune stimulators on a day-to-week timescale synchronized with autologous immune kinetics. The same method can also be applied in cell engineering and regenerative medicine, challenging experts around the globe to develop advanced hydrogel technologies with this aim in mind.

Prof. Dr. Akira Matsumoto
Guest Editor

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.

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. Gels 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 2100 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

  • smart gels
  • nanogels
  • drug delivery
  • cell and tissue engineering
  • injectable gels
  • 3D printing
  • microneedles

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 3075 KiB  
Article
Sustained Release of Voriconazole Using 3D-Crosslinked Hydrogel Rings and Rods for Use in Corneal Drug Delivery
by Aiym Rakhmetova, Zhiqi Yi, Malake Sarmout and Leo H. Koole
Gels 2023, 9(12), 933; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels9120933 - 28 Nov 2023
Viewed by 1334
Abstract
Corneal disorders and diseases are prevalent in the field of clinical ophthalmology. Fungal keratitis, one of the major factors leading to visual impairment and blindness worldwide, presents significant challenges for traditional topical eye drop treatments. The objective of this study was to create [...] Read more.
Corneal disorders and diseases are prevalent in the field of clinical ophthalmology. Fungal keratitis, one of the major factors leading to visual impairment and blindness worldwide, presents significant challenges for traditional topical eye drop treatments. The objective of this study was to create biocompatible 3D-crosslinked hydrogels for drug delivery to the cornea, intending to enhance the bioavailability of ophthalmic drugs. Firstly, a series of flexible and porous hydrogels were synthesized (free-radical polymerization), characterized, and evaluated. The materials were prepared by the free-radical polymerization reaction of 1-vinyl-2-pyrrolidinone (also known as N-vinylpyrrolidone or NVP) and 1,6-hexanediol dimethacrylate (crosslinker) in the presence of polyethylene glycol 1000 (PEG-1000) as the porogen. After the physicochemical characterization of these materials, the chosen hydrogel demonstrated outstanding cytocompatibility in vitro. Subsequently, the selected porous hydrogels could be loaded with voriconazole, an antifungal medication. The procedure was adapted to realize a loading of 175 mg voriconazole per ring, which slightly exceeds the amount of voriconazole that is instilled into the eye via drop therapy (a single eye drop corresponds with approximately 100 mg voriconazole). The voriconazole-loaded rings exhibited a stable zero-order release pattern over the first two hours, which points to a significantly improved bioavailability of the drug. Ex vivo experiments using the established porcine eye model provided confirmation of a 10-fold increase in drug penetration into the cornea (after 2 h of application of the hydrogel ring, 35.8 ± 3.2% of the original dose is retrieved from the cornea, which compares with 3.9 ± 1% of the original dose in the case of eye drop therapy). These innovative hydrogel rods and rings show great potential for improving the bioavailability of ophthalmic drugs, which could potentially lead to reduced hospitalization durations and treatment expenses. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Hydrogels for Controlled Drug Delivery (2nd Edition))
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Review

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18 pages, 2867 KiB  
Review
Advances in Hydrogels of Drug Delivery Systems for the Local Treatment of Brain Tumors
by Jingru Yang, Zhijie Wang, Chenyan Ma, Hongyu Tang, Haoyang Hao, Mengyao Li, Xianwei Luo, Mingxin Yang, Liang Gao and Juan Li
Gels 2024, 10(6), 404; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels10060404 - 17 Jun 2024
Viewed by 622
Abstract
The management of brain tumors presents numerous challenges, despite the employment of multimodal therapies including surgical intervention, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy. Owing to the distinct location of brain tumors and the presence of the blood–brain barrier (BBB), these tumors exhibit considerable heterogeneity and [...] Read more.
The management of brain tumors presents numerous challenges, despite the employment of multimodal therapies including surgical intervention, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy. Owing to the distinct location of brain tumors and the presence of the blood–brain barrier (BBB), these tumors exhibit considerable heterogeneity and invasiveness at the histological level. Recent advancements in hydrogel research for the local treatment of brain tumors have sought to overcome the primary challenge of delivering therapeutics past the BBB, thereby ensuring efficient accumulation within brain tumor tissues. This article elaborates on various hydrogel-based delivery vectors, examining their efficacy in the local treatment of brain tumors. Additionally, it reviews the fundamental principles involved in designing intelligent hydrogels that can circumvent the BBB and penetrate larger tumor areas, thereby facilitating precise, controlled drug release. Hydrogel-based drug delivery systems (DDSs) are posited to offer a groundbreaking approach to addressing the challenges and limitations inherent in traditional oncological therapies, which are significantly impeded by the unique structural and pathological characteristics of brain tumors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Hydrogels for Controlled Drug Delivery (2nd Edition))
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