Bigels as drug delivery systems: From their components to their applications

Bigels are systems that usually result from mixing a hydrogel and an organogel: the aqueous phase is commonly formed by a hydrophilic biopolymer, whereas the organic phase comprises a gelled vegetable oil because of the presence of an organogelator. The proportion of the corresponding gelling agent...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Martín Illana, Araceli, Notario Pérez, Fernando, Cazorla Luna, Raúl, Ruiz Caro, Roberto, Bonferoni, Maria C., Tamayo, Aitana, Veiga Ochoa, María Dolores
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:España
Institución:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
Repositorio:Docta Complutense
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/4713
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/4713
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:615.4
Hydrogel
Organogel
Organogelator
Bigel manufacturing
Bigel characterization
Drug delivery bigels
Tecnología farmaceútica
Descripción
Sumario:Bigels are systems that usually result from mixing a hydrogel and an organogel: the aqueous phase is commonly formed by a hydrophilic biopolymer, whereas the organic phase comprises a gelled vegetable oil because of the presence of an organogelator. The proportion of the corresponding gelling agent in each phase, the organogel/hydrogel ratio, and the mixing temperature and speed all need to be taken into consideration for bigel manufacturing. Bigels, which are particularly useful drug delivery systems, have already been formulated for transdermal, buccal, and vaginal routes. Mechanical assessments and microscopy are the most reported characterization techniques. As we review here, their composition and unique structure confer promising drug delivery attributes, such as mucoadhesion, the ability to control drug release, and the possibility of including both hydrophilic and lipophilic drugs in the same system.