Design of Dosage Forms to Enhance Biopharmaceutical Properties

A special issue of Pharmaceutics (ISSN 1999-4923). This special issue belongs to the section "Biopharmaceutics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 December 2026 | Viewed by 682

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Pharmacy, University of Huddersfield, Queensgate, Huddersfield HD1 3DH, UK
Interests: oral drug delivery; modified release technologies; hydrophilic matrix tablets; poorly water-soluble drugs; amorphous solid dispersions; pharmaceutical polymers
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Modern drug discovery tends to produce compounds that frequently do not possess the desired physicochemical properties such as good water solubility or high permeability; consequently, they do not exhibit optimal biopharmaceutical properties.  Additionally, for some investigational compounds, there may be a requirement to apply modified release technologies to optimize pharmacokinetic characteristics to provide a convenient dosing regimen and possibly to enhance tolerability. The delivery of peptides, proteins, and antibodies by routes other than parenteral infusion is an option that can offer significant convenience to patients. This Special Issue will welcome submission of manuscripts describing formulation approaches that might improve the biopharmaceutics and pharmacokinetics properties of investigational drugs or model compounds including the following:

  • Prodrugs;
  • Complexation (e.g. cyclodextrins);
  • Nanocrystals ;
  • Amorphous solid dispersions (melt extrusion or spray-dried dispersions);
  • Solubilized systems such as lipid dispersion/solution formulations or self-emulsifying dispersion formulations;
  • Modified-release formulations.

Manuscripts that cover novel approaches for the delivery of peptides, proteins, and antibodies by routes of administration other than parenteral infusion are also within the scope of this Special Issue.  As well as oral drug delivery, compound modification or formulation approaches that can enable the effective topical delivery of drugs through the skin or in ophthalmic formulations are within the scope of the Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Peter Timmins
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • biopharmaceutics
  • drug delivery
  • prodrug
  • amorphous dispersion
  • self-emulsifying dispersion
  • cyclodextrins
  • nanocrystals
  • modified release
  • peptide
  • antibody

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

23 pages, 2945 KB  
Article
Fabrication and Characterization of Nerolidol-Based Invasomes: Loading, Stability and Antimicrobial Applications
by Gaetano Lamberti, Raffaella De Piano, Diego Caccavo, Sara Guarino, Lorenzo Bosio, Dante Greco, Clotilde Silvia Cabassi, Nicolò Mezzasalma, Costanza Spadini, Federico Righi, Marica Simoni, Susanna Bosi and Anna Angela Barba
Pharmaceutics 2026, 18(4), 410; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics18040410 - 27 Mar 2026
Viewed by 380
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Nerolidol (NER) is a sesquiterpene alcohol with recognized antimicrobial potential, whose applications as a pure substance are limited by hydrophobicity, instability, and cytotoxicity. Invasomes, i.e., liposomes with terpene ingredients, offer a strategy to improve their delivery; however, the NER loading limits [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Nerolidol (NER) is a sesquiterpene alcohol with recognized antimicrobial potential, whose applications as a pure substance are limited by hydrophobicity, instability, and cytotoxicity. Invasomes, i.e., liposomes with terpene ingredients, offer a strategy to improve their delivery; however, the NER loading limits compatible with vesicle integrity are still unclear. Here, Nerolidol-loaded invasomes were produced using a controlled simil-microfluidic coaxial injection process. Methods and Results: As a preliminary step, unloaded liposomes were fabricated to consolidate operating conditions and ensure their reproducible colloidal properties. Thereafter, formulations with progressively decreasing nominal NER loads were investigated to evaluate vesicle size, polydispersity, ζ-potential, encapsulation efficiency, effective loading, and stability. High nominal loads promoted turbidity, size increase (by agglomeration coalescence phenomena), and structural instability, whereas formulations containing approximately 1–2% NER achieved nearly complete encapsulation, Z-average ≈ 300 nm, |ζ| > 30 mV, and satisfactory physical stability. Antimicrobial and cytotoxic profiles of representative formulations, previously evaluated in an independent study are here reported only to contextualize the practical relevance of the optimized systems, while the present work primarily focuses on process–formulation aspects and loading/stability limitations. Conclusions: Overall, the present work identifies a realistic loading window for Nerolidol invasomes and highlights the suitability of the simil-microfluidic approach to obtain scalable, well-controlled formulations, providing a rational basis for their future biological assessment. Nerolidol invasome systems indeed can be considered a promising, versatile platform for antimicrobial applications, including prospective use in animal feed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design of Dosage Forms to Enhance Biopharmaceutical Properties)
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