Drug Delivery Letters - Online First

Emulgel is a novel topical drug delivery system that combines the advantages of gels and emulsions to enhance drug penetration, stability, and patient compliance. Conventional topical formulations of drugs, such as creams, gels, and ointments, often possess problems with drug solubility, permeability, and retention. Emulgel is effective by utilizing an emulsion in a gel base, which overcomes the disadvantages of a gel base, provides dual-controlled release at the same time, and improves spreadability and bioavailability. Due to its unique structure, which allows for the effective entrapment of either hydrophilic or lipophilic drugs, emulgel is well-suited for diverse pharmaceutical and cosmetic applications. In addition, the gel base provides a non-greasy consistency that ensures prolonged drug contact with the skin and increased patient tolerability. Surfactants and penetration enhancers added to emulgel formulations likewise promote transdermal drug uptake and increase therapeutic activity. Recent studies highlight their innovation as a superior alternative to traditional systems, supporting applications in dermatology, pain treatment, and wound healing. Moreover, emulgel is an alternative candidate in the pharmaceutical industry due to the ease of large-scale production and formulation flexibility. This review outlines the formulation techniques, role of excipients, therapeutic advantages, and recent advancements in emulgel technology, with an emphasis on improving the drug delivery of topical pharmaceutical medicaments. By organizing recent findings and emerging trends, the article aims to provide insight into their potential as a novel and superior modality for enhanced transdermal delivery, effectively overcoming the limitations of traditional topical dosage forms.

Innovations in the development and application of injectable hydrogels within biomedical engineering highlight their distinct characteristics and promising roles in tissue engineering and controlled release systems. Injectable hydrogels, distinguished by their three-dimensional network topologies, in-situ gelation process, and stimuli-responsive behaviour, have outstanding biocompatibility, mechanical properties, and the capacity to deliver therapeutic drugs to specific areas with little invasiveness. This review focuses on the advancements in hydrogel formulations, particularly natural and synthetic hydrogels, and their effectiveness in stimulating tissue regeneration. It specifically emphasizes cardiac applications following myocardial infarction. Hydrogels have received significant attention due to their exceptional porosity, mechanical behaviour, and biological compatibility, making them convenient for cancer therapy. Injectable hydrogels, known for their favourable physicochemical properties, have shown promising results in treating various conditions, including ocular diseases, cancer, wound healing, cardiovascular disorders, and rheumatoid arthritis. It highlights the diversity in study methodologies and the necessity for large-scale animal trials, which pose challenges for clinical translation. Furthermore, emphasizes the importance of enhancing hydrogel properties to improve therapeutic efficacy and calls for additional research to fully realize their potential in regenerative medicine. This study explores injectable hydrogels for cardiac tissue regeneration post-myocardial infarction (MI), a less-studied area compared to wound healing and drug delivery. It highlights their applications in ocular diseases, cancer therapy, rheumatoid arthritis, and personalized medicine, addressing challenges like clinical translation, biocompatibility, and mechanical property optimization. Emphasis is placed on improving hydrogel porosity, strength, and stimuli-responsiveness for enhanced outcomes. Unique insights include their role as targeted drug carriers for localized cancer therapy. Future directions involve biopolymer innovations, 3D bioprinting, and regenerative medicine advancements.

Topical drug delivery systems have garnered significant attention in recent years due to their advantages in localized drug administration, reduced systemic side effects, and enhanced patient compliance. Emulgels, a novel formulation combining the benefits of emulsions and gels, have emerged as a promising approach for improving the topical delivery of anti-inflammatory drugs. This review highlights the evolving trends in emulgel technology, focusing on their unique properties, formulation techniques, and advantages over traditional topical systems. The incorporation of anti-inflammatory drugs into emulgel systems enhances drug solubility, provides sustained release, and improves skin penetration, making them highly effective in treating conditions like arthritis, dermatitis, and other inflammatory disorders. Additionally, emerging trends such as the use of bio-based polymers, nanotechnology, and targeted delivery systems are discussed, emphasizing their potential to revolutionize the topical delivery of anti-inflammatory agents. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the recent advancements in emulgel formulations and their prospects in pharmaceutical applications.

This article reviews various experimental models to determine pharmacological and physiological factors affecting intranasal to brain delivery. Administering drugs directly from the nasal cavity to the brain has great potential for treating Central Nervous System (CNS) disorders. Various preclinical models, such as in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo, are used to study the transport of drugs after intranasal administration. The use of in vitro and ex vivo intranasal models provides an opportunity to study the physiological and pharmacological aspects that may impact the transport of drugs via the nasal epithelium. These models can help in understanding the mechanisms of drug absorption from the intranasal region. Developing and employing cost-efficient pharmacokinetic models for intranasal drug administration that exhibit an effective in vitro-in vivo relationship can boost the development of drugs and improve economic and ecological factors by reducing the need for animal experimentation. Thus, reducing both the duration and costs. The present review article aims to offer a comprehensive summary of the various experimental models. Furthermore, it does a comprehensive assessment of data gathered from several studies and emphasizes the pros and cons of each model.

Migraine is a neurological disorder characterized by recurrent headaches often accompanied by sensitivity to light and sound, nausea, and vomiting. Current oral medications frequently demonstrate limited efficacy and potential side effects. Consequently, researchers are investigating alternative drug delivery systems, such as Solid Lipid Nanoparticles (SLN) and Nanostructured Lipid Carriers (NLC), for enhanced migraine treatment. These lipid-based nanoparticles encapsulate drugs, offering advantages including improved solubility and stability, reduced side effects, and targeted delivery. Intranasal administration of these nanoparticles enables drugs to bypass the gastrointestinal tract, thereby facilitating faster access to the brain. This review explores the pathophysiology of migraine and provides an overview of SLN and NLC technology, including preparation methods and benefits. Furthermore, it examines current preclinical and clinical research on the application of these nanoparticles for migraine treatment, culminating in a discussion of their potential as effective therapeutic options.

As a major global health problem, neuropsychiatric disorders, including depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar disease, have complex etiologies as well as heterogeneous diagnoses of patient treatment responsiveness. Conventional pharmacotherapy is increasingly the go-to treatment due to its wide utilization, but struggles with a number of symptoms surrounding pain that it can only partially treat because of restrictions in drug phenotype-penetrance and delivery methodologies. All too often, conventional treatments exhibit poor efficacy and side effect profiles, leaving most chronic low back sufferers inadequately treated. Here, we summarize recent breakthroughs on the horizon that could revolutionize the treatment of neuropsychiatric diseases in a review article. We examine the state-of-the-art in drug design and emerging technologies, such as computers and artificial intelligence, which provide tools to pinpoint a specific subset for precision therapy. The review also discusses drug delivery systems, including novel nanoparticle carriers and brain-targeted delivery methods, to enhance the bioavailability and reduce the side effects of the drugs. The authors also discuss the applications of new technologies, such as CRISPR gene editing, for directly correcting disease-causing genes. The purpose of this review is to summarize and synthesize these advances, thereby providing an expansive perspective on neuropsychiatric disorder management in the current context, with pointers towards possible new therapeutic strategies leading to a more precise, patient-targeted treatment approach.

Herbal nanoformulations have emerged as a promising approach for managing hepatotoxicity by enhancing the bioavailability, stability, and therapeutic efficacy of plant-derived compounds. Traditional herbal medicines possess hepatoprotective properties due to their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and detoxifying effects. However, poor solubility, rapid metabolism, and low systemic absorption limit their clinical potential. Nanoformulations, including liposomes, phytosomes, solid lipid nanoparticles, and polymeric nanoparticles, overcome these challenges by improving drug delivery, targeted release, and sustained therapeutic action. Various plant extracts, such as Curcuma longa, Silybum marianum, and Andrographis paniculata, have demonstrated significant hepatoprotective effects when delivered through nano-based systems. in-vivo studies indicate enhanced liver enzyme regulation, reduced oxidative stress, and improved histopathological recovery in drug-induced hepatotoxic models. Nanocarrier systems facilitate cellular uptake and protect bioactive compounds from degradation, thereby maximizing therapeutic benefits while minimizing toxicity. This innovative approach not only offers an alternative to conventional hepatoprotective agents but also provides a platform for the development of efficient herbal therapeutics. Further research is needed to establish safety, optimize formulations, and conduct clinical trials to validate their efficacy in humans. Herbal nanoformulations hold great potential as a novel strategy for preventing and treating hepatotoxicity.

The most prevalent type of dementia, Alzheimer's disease (AD), is typified by the presence of intracellular tau protein neurofibrillary tangles and extracellular amyloid plaques. There are currently about 50 million people who have dementia, and by 2030, that number is predicted to rise to 75 million, placing a significant financial strain on the nation's healthcare system. Novel disease-modifying treatments are desperately needed to combat this illness, given the consequences on patients' quality of life and the mounting financial strain. There are currently no disease-modifying medications available; instead, the majority of available therapies are symptomatic ones such as cholinesterase inhibitors and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor blockers. The primary focus of therapeutic research against AD has shifted to tau-targeting strategies following multiple unsuccessful attempts to create medications against amyloidopathy. This article first provides an introduction to tauopathy in AD before summarizing current research on the creation of tau-oriented multi-target directed ligands and small compounds as therapies that target tau alteration, aggregation, and degradation. The overall goal of this work is to present a thorough and critical review of small compounds that are being investigated as potential treatment candidates for AD tauopathy.