title: Drug delivery from gelatin-based systems.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Carriers for controlled drug release offer many advantages compared with conventional dosage forms. Gelatin has been investigated extensively as a drug delivery carrier, due to its properties and history of safe use in a wide range of medical applications.
  
  
  METHODS
  Gelatin was shown to be versatile due to its intrinsic features that enable the design of different carrier systems, such as microparticles and nanoparticles, fibers and even hydrogels. Gelatin microparticles can serve as vehicles for cell amplification and for delivery of large bioactive molecules, whereas gelatin nanoparticles are better suited for intravenous delivery or for drug delivery to the brain. Gelatin fibers contain a high surface area-to-volume ratio, whereas gelatin hydrogels can trap molecules between the polymer's crosslink gaps, allowing these molecules to diffuse into the blood stream. Another interesting area is the combination of tissue bioadhesive-based gelatin with controlled drug release for pain management and wound healing.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The modification of gelatin and its combinations with other biomaterials have demonstrated the flexibility of these systems and can be employed for meeting the challenges of finding ideal carrier systems that enable specific, targeted and controlled release in response to demands in the body.
authors.affiliation: Tel-Aviv University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering , Tel-Aviv 69978 , Israel.
authors.forename: Maytal
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Foox
authors.forename: Meital
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zilberman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000737:chemistry*; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D005079:Excipients / Q000737:chemistry; D005780:Gelatin / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D020100:Hydrogels; D053758:Nanoparticles
chemical_list: D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D004337:Drug Carriers; D005079:Excipients; D020100:Hydrogels; D005780:Gelatin
keywords: fibers; gelatin; hydrogels; microparticles; nanoparticles; tissue bioadhesive