Pectin-based hydrogels with adjustable properties for controlled delivery of nifedipine: development and optimization

Antimicrobial carbon dots/pectin-based hydrogel for promoting healing processes in multidrug-resistant bacteria-infected wounds

Multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial infections have become a significant threat to global healthcare systems. Here, we developed a highly efficient antimicrobial hydrogel using environmentally friendly garlic carbon dots, pectin, and acrylic acid. The hydrogel had a porous three-dimensional network structure, which endowed it with good mechanical properties and compression recovery performance. The hydrogel could adhere closely to skin tissues and had an equilibrium swelling ratio of 6.21, indicating its potential as a wound dressing. In particular, the bactericidal efficacy following 24-h contact against two MDR bacteria could exceed 99.99 %. When the hydrogel was applied to epidermal wounds infected with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) on mice, a remarkable healing rate of 93.29 % was observed after 10 days. This was better than the effectiveness of the traditionally used antibiotic kanamycin, which resulted in a healing rate of 70.36 %. In vitro cytotoxicity testing and hemolysis assay demonstrated a high biocompatibility. This was further proved by the in vivo assay where no toxic side effects were observed on the heart, liver, spleen, lung, or kidney of mice. This eco-friendly and easy-to-prepare food-inspired hydrogel provides an idea for the rational use of food and food by-products as a wound dressing to control MDR bacterial infections.

Pectin hydrogels for controlled drug release: Recent developments and future prospects

Pectin hydrogels have emerged as a highly promising medium for the controlled release of pharmaceuticals in the dynamic field of drug delivery. The present review sheds light on the broad range of applications and potential of pectin-based hydrogels in pharmaceutical formulations. Pectin, as a biopolymer, is a versatile candidate for various drug delivery systems because of its wide range of properties and characteristics. The information provided on formulation strategies and crosslinking techniques provides researchers with tools to improve drug entrapment and controlled release. Furthermore, this review provides a more in-depth understanding of the complex factors influencing drug release from pectin hydrogels, such as the impact of environmental conditions and drug-specific characteristics. Pectin hydrogels demonstrate adaptability across diverse domains, ranging from applications in oral and transdermal drug delivery to contributions in wound healing, tissue engineering, and ongoing clinical trials. While standardization and regulatory compliance remain significant challenges, the future of pectin hydrogels appears to be bright, opening up new possibilities for advanced drug delivery systems.

Non-Invasive Delivery of Insulin for Breaching Hindrances against Diabetes

Insulin is recognized as a crucial weapon in managing diabetes. Subcutaneous (s.c.) injections are the traditional approach for insulin administration, which usually have many limitations. Numerous alternative (non-invasive) slants through different routes have been explored by the researchers for making needle-free delivery of insulin for attaining its augmented absorption as well as bioavailability. The current review delineating numerous pros and cons of several novel approaches of non-invasive insulin delivery by overcoming many of their hurdles. Primary information on the topic was gathered by searching scholarly articles from PubMed added with extraction of data from auxiliary manuscripts. Many approaches (discussed in the article) are meant for the delivery of a safe, effective, stable, and patient friendly administration of insulin via buccal, oral, inhalational, transdermal, intranasal, ocular, vaginal and rectal routes. Few of them have proven their clinical efficacy for maintaining the glycemic levels, whereas others are under the investigational pipe line. The developed products are comprising of many advanced micro/nano composite technologies and few of them might be entering into the market in near future, thereby garnishing the hopes of millions of diabetics who are under the network of s.c. insulin injections.

Green synthesis of quince/pectin cross-linked superporous hydrogel sponges for pH-regulated sustained domperidone delivery

The present study aims to utilize green synthesis to fabricate stimuli-responsive, smart, quince/pectin cross-linked hydrogel sponges for the pH-regulated conveyance of domperidone. The designed hydrogel sponges were evaluated for a sol-gel fraction (%), swelling studies and kinetics, drug loading (%), electrolyte-responsive character, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermal analysis, drug-excipient compatibility studies (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, mechanical testing, in-vitro drug release studies, and acute oral toxicity studies. The drug loading (%) ranged from 67 to 85%. Hydrogel sponges displayed pH-responsive swelling potential, with optimum swelling in a phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) and insignificant swelling in an acidic buffer of pH 1.2. The prepared hydrogel sponges displayed second-order swelling dynamics. The FTIR data revealed the successful fabrication of the hydrogel sponges with the primary drug peaks remaining unchanged, demonstrating excipients-drug compatibility. SEM confirmed the rough, porous surface of hydrogel sponges with numerous cracks. XRD measurements revealed the transformation of the crystalline nature of domperidone into an amorphous one within the developed hydrogel sponges. Dissolution studies revealed little domperidone release in an acidic environment. However, hydrogel sponges exhibited release up to 10 h in phosphate buffer.The sponge's non-toxic or biocompatible character was confirmed through toxicological studies. Thus, the finding indicates that quince/pectin cross-linked hydrogel sponges are durable enough to deliver the domperidone to the gut for a longer time.

3D Printable Self-Adhesive and Self-Healing Ionotronic Hydrogels for Wearable Healthcare Devices

Ionotronic hydrogels have attracted significant attention in emerging fields such as wearable devices, flexible electronics, and energy devices. To date, the design of multifunctional ionotronic hydrogels with strong interfacial adhesion, rapid self-healing, three-dimensional (3D) printing processability, and high conductivity are key requirements for future wearable devices. Herein, we report the rational design and facile synthesis of 3D printable, self-adhesive, self-healing, and conductive ionotronic hydrogels based on the synergistic dual reversible interactions of poly(vinyl alcohol), borax, pectin, and tannic acid. Multifunctional ionotronic hydrogels exhibit strong adhesion to various substrates with different roughness and chemical components, including porcine skin, glass, nitrile gloves, and plastics (normal adhesion strength of 55 kPa on the skin). In addition, the ionotronic hydrogels exhibit intrinsic ionic conductivity imparting strain-sensing properties with a gauge factor of 2.5 up to a wide detection range of approximately 2000%, as well as improved self-healing behavior. Based on these multifunctional properties, we further demonstrate the use of ionotronic hydrogels in the 3D printing process for implementing complex patterns as wearable strain sensors for human motion detection. This study is expected to provide a new avenue for the design of multifunctional ionotronic hydrogels, enabling their potential applications in wearable healthcare devices.

Recent progress in polymeric non-invasive insulin delivery

The design of carriers for insulin delivery has recently attracted major research attentions in the biomedical field. In general, the release of drug from polymers is driven via a variety of polymers. Several mechanisms such as matrix release, leaching of drug, swelling, and diffusion are usually adopted for the release of drug through polymers. Insulin is one of the most predominant therapeutic drugs for the treatment of both diabetes mellitus; type-I (insulin-dependent) and type II (insulin-independent). Currently, insulin is administered subcutaneously, which makes the patient feel discomfort, pain, hyperinsulinemia, allergic responses, lipodystrophy surrounding the injection area, and occurrence of miscarried glycemic control. Therefore, significant research interest has been focused on designing and developing new insulin delivery technologies to control blood glucose levels and time, which can enhance the patient compliance simultaneously through alternative routes as non-invasive insulin delivery. The aim of this review is to emphasize various non-invasive insulin delivery mechanisms including oral, transdermal, rectal, vaginal, ocular, and nasal. In addition, this review highlights different smart stimuli-responsive insulin delivery systems including glucose, pH, enzymes, near-infrared, ultrasound, magnetic and electric fields, and the application of various polymers as insulin carriers. Finally, the advantages, limitations, and the effect of each non-invasive route on insulin delivery are discussed in detail.