Hydrogels and Organogels for Local Anesthetic Delivery: Advances, Challenges, and Translational Perspectives
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Gel-based depots are increasingly recognized as platforms to extend the intratissue residence of local anesthetics (LAs) while reducing systemic exposure. Hydrogels, organogels, and emerging bigels represent three distinct architectures defined by their continuous phases and drug-matrix interactions. Hydrogels provide hydrated polymer networks with predictable injectability, tunable degradation, and diffusion- or stimulus-responsive release, enabling sustained analgesia in perineural, peri-incisional, intra-articular, and implant-adjacent settings. Organogels, formed by supramolecular assembly of low-molecular-weight gelators in lipids or semi-polar solvents, strongly solubilize lipophilic LA bases and enhance barrier partitioning, making them suitable for dermal, transdermal, and mucosal applications in outpatient or chronic pain care. Bigels integrate aqueous and lipid domains within biphasic matrices, improving rheology, spreadability, and dual-solubilization capacity, although their use in LA delivery remains at the formulation stage, with no validated in vivo pharmacology. This narrative review synthesizes the design principles, release mechanisms, and translational evidence across these platforms, highlighting domain-specific advantages and barriers related to mechanical robustness, sterilization, reproducibility, and regulatory feasibility. We propose a platform-level framework in which depot selection is aligned with LA chemistry, anatomical context, and clinical objectives to guide the development of workflow-compatible next-generation LA depots.
Source: Gels
DOI: 10.3390/gels12010022
Authors: Jong-Woan Kim, Jin-Oh Jeong, Hoon Choi
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Medicine
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,534
OpenAlex ID: W7117320443