Release of small bioactive molecules from physical gels

Chem Soc Rev. 2018 Feb 21;47(4):1484-1515. doi: 10.1039/c7cs00515f. Epub 2018 Jan 22.

Abstract

Pharmaceutical drugs with low water solubility have always received great attention within the scientific community. The reduced bioavailability and the need of frequent administrations have motivated the investigation of new drug delivery systems. Within this context, drug carriers that release their payload in a sustained way and hence reduce the administration rate are highly demanded. One interesting strategy to meet these requirements is the entrapment of the drugs into gels. So far, the most investigated materials for such drug-loaded gels are derived from polymers and based on covalent linkages. However, over the last decade the use of physical (or supramolecular) gels derived from low molecular weight compounds has experienced strong growth in this field, mainly due to important properties such as injectability, stimuli responsiveness and ease of synthesis. This review summarizes the use of supramolecular gels for the encapsulation and controlled release of small therapeutic molecules.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Biological Transport
  • Drug Carriers / administration & dosage
  • Drug Carriers / adverse effects
  • Drug Carriers / chemistry*
  • Drug Liberation
  • Gels / administration & dosage
  • Gels / adverse effects
  • Gels / chemistry*
  • Humans
  • Molecular Structure
  • Peptides / chemistry
  • Permeability
  • Pharmaceutical Preparations / chemistry*
  • Pharmacokinetics
  • Polymers / chemistry
  • Solubility
  • Water

Substances

  • Drug Carriers
  • Gels
  • Peptides
  • Pharmaceutical Preparations
  • Polymers
  • Water