Biofunctional Excipients: Their Emerging Role in Overcoming the Inherent Poor Biopharmaceutical Characteristics of Drugs

<b>Background/Objectives:</b> With advancements in biomaterial sciences, biofunctional excipients have emerged to focus on solving issues with the drugs’ inherent biopharmaceutical characteristics such as poor solubility, permeability, in vivo dissolution, and effective targeting. These...

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Main Authors: Milad Reda Qelliny, Wesam W. Mustafa, Adel Al Fatease, Ali H. Alamri, Raid Alany, Hamdy Abdelkader
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Pharmaceutics
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/17/5/598
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author Milad Reda Qelliny
Wesam W. Mustafa
Adel Al Fatease
Ali H. Alamri
Raid Alany
Hamdy Abdelkader
author_facet Milad Reda Qelliny
Wesam W. Mustafa
Adel Al Fatease
Ali H. Alamri
Raid Alany
Hamdy Abdelkader
author_sort Milad Reda Qelliny
collection DOAJ
description <b>Background/Objectives:</b> With advancements in biomaterial sciences, biofunctional excipients have emerged to focus on solving issues with the drugs’ inherent biopharmaceutical characteristics such as poor solubility, permeability, in vivo dissolution, and effective targeting. These advanced excipients significantly impact drug solubility, dissolution rates, absorption rates, permeation rates, penetration ability, targeting ability, and pharmacokinetic profiles. <b>Methods:</b> A literature review of recently published articles was prepared. Data were collected using scientific search engines. This review provided a detailed discussion of various biofunctional excipients including smart polymers, targeted polymers, bioadhesive polymers, lipids, amino acids, cyclodextrins, and biosurfactants. Each category was discussed in detail concerning its biofunctional applications, the mechanisms underlying these biofunctions, and examples of their effects on drug performance. <b>Results:</b> The data obtained indicated that the rapid advances in the manufacturing of pharmaceutical excipients have resulted in the development of a diverse array of smart or intelligent excipients that play a crucial role in enhancing inherent poor biopharmaceutical characteristics. <b>Conclusions:</b> These advancements have also facilitated the development of various drug delivery systems, including immediate, controlled, sustained, and targeted drug release systems. Also, numerous nano-based delivery systems have emerged utilizing the newly produced excipients.
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spelling doaj-art-99b97dd668dc4e79aa9f5fd3f36cc2322025-08-20T03:14:32ZengMDPI AGPharmaceutics1999-49232025-05-0117559810.3390/pharmaceutics17050598Biofunctional Excipients: Their Emerging Role in Overcoming the Inherent Poor Biopharmaceutical Characteristics of DrugsMilad Reda Qelliny0Wesam W. Mustafa1Adel Al Fatease2Ali H. Alamri3Raid Alany4Hamdy Abdelkader5Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Minia University, Minia 61519, EgyptDepartment of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, Al-Mustafa University, Baghdad 996X+JXC, IraqDepartment of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, King Khalid University, Abha 62529, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, King Khalid University, Abha 62529, Saudi ArabiaSchool of Pharmacy, Kingston University London, Kingston Upon Thames KT1 2EE, UKDepartment of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, King Khalid University, Abha 62529, Saudi Arabia<b>Background/Objectives:</b> With advancements in biomaterial sciences, biofunctional excipients have emerged to focus on solving issues with the drugs’ inherent biopharmaceutical characteristics such as poor solubility, permeability, in vivo dissolution, and effective targeting. These advanced excipients significantly impact drug solubility, dissolution rates, absorption rates, permeation rates, penetration ability, targeting ability, and pharmacokinetic profiles. <b>Methods:</b> A literature review of recently published articles was prepared. Data were collected using scientific search engines. This review provided a detailed discussion of various biofunctional excipients including smart polymers, targeted polymers, bioadhesive polymers, lipids, amino acids, cyclodextrins, and biosurfactants. Each category was discussed in detail concerning its biofunctional applications, the mechanisms underlying these biofunctions, and examples of their effects on drug performance. <b>Results:</b> The data obtained indicated that the rapid advances in the manufacturing of pharmaceutical excipients have resulted in the development of a diverse array of smart or intelligent excipients that play a crucial role in enhancing inherent poor biopharmaceutical characteristics. <b>Conclusions:</b> These advancements have also facilitated the development of various drug delivery systems, including immediate, controlled, sustained, and targeted drug release systems. Also, numerous nano-based delivery systems have emerged utilizing the newly produced excipients.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/17/5/598pharmaceutical excipientsbiofunctional excipientssmart polymerslipidsamino acidscyclodextrins
spellingShingle Milad Reda Qelliny
Wesam W. Mustafa
Adel Al Fatease
Ali H. Alamri
Raid Alany
Hamdy Abdelkader
Biofunctional Excipients: Their Emerging Role in Overcoming the Inherent Poor Biopharmaceutical Characteristics of Drugs
Pharmaceutics
pharmaceutical excipients
biofunctional excipients
smart polymers
lipids
amino acids
cyclodextrins
title Biofunctional Excipients: Their Emerging Role in Overcoming the Inherent Poor Biopharmaceutical Characteristics of Drugs
title_full Biofunctional Excipients: Their Emerging Role in Overcoming the Inherent Poor Biopharmaceutical Characteristics of Drugs
title_fullStr Biofunctional Excipients: Their Emerging Role in Overcoming the Inherent Poor Biopharmaceutical Characteristics of Drugs
title_full_unstemmed Biofunctional Excipients: Their Emerging Role in Overcoming the Inherent Poor Biopharmaceutical Characteristics of Drugs
title_short Biofunctional Excipients: Their Emerging Role in Overcoming the Inherent Poor Biopharmaceutical Characteristics of Drugs
title_sort biofunctional excipients their emerging role in overcoming the inherent poor biopharmaceutical characteristics of drugs
topic pharmaceutical excipients
biofunctional excipients
smart polymers
lipids
amino acids
cyclodextrins
url https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/17/5/598
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