Title:Hydrogels for Modified-release Drug Delivery Systems
Volume: 28
Issue: 8
Author(s): Aleksandra Zielińska, Piotr Eder, Lucas Rannier, Juliana C. Cardoso, Patrícia Severino, Amélia M. Silva and Eliana B. Souto*
Affiliation:
- CEB - Centre of Biological Engineering,
University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
- LABBELS - Associate Laboratory, Braga, Guimarães,
Portugal
Keywords:
Hydrogels, modified-release, drug delivery, safety, bioavailability, HMDDS.
Abstract: Hydrogels for the modified-release drug delivery systems are a continuously growing area of interest
for the pharmaceutical industry. According to the global market, the profit resulting from the use of polymers in
this area is projected to reach $31.4 million by 2027. This review discusses the recent advances in and perspectives
of hydrogel in drug delivery systems for oral, parenteral, nasal, topical, and ophthalmic delivery. The
search was conducted, in January 2021, in an extensive database to identify studies published from January
2010 to December 2020. We described the main characteristic of the polymers to obtain an ideal hydrogel for a
specific route of administration and the formulations. It was concluded that the hydrogels are useful to decrease
the number of doses and side effects, promote adhesion of patient, and enhance the bioavailability of the drugs,
thus improving the safety and efficacy of the treatment.