{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,23]],"date-time":"2026-09-23T02:25:02Z","timestamp":1790130302229,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,25]],"date-time":"2025-02-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1740441600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Sustainable Utilization of Bio-resources and Waste of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants for Innovative Bioactive Products","award":["BG16RFPR002-1.014-0001"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["BG16RFPR002-1.014-0001"]}]},{"name":"Research, Innovation and Digitization for Smart Transformation","award":["BG16RFPR002-1.014-0001"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["BG16RFPR002-1.014-0001"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Molecules"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Aripiprazole (ARZ) is an atypical antipsychotic drug used to treat a variety of mood and psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, autism, and Tourette\u2019s syndrome. Although ARZ offers significant therapeutic benefits, its poor solubility in water requires the development of delivery systems aimed at improving the solubility and bioavailability of the drug. In this work, cryogels based on two natural products\u2014agar and \u03b2-cyclodextrin (CD)\u2014were developed and evaluated as a drug delivery system for ARZ. The cryogels were prepared by cryogenic treatment of aqueous solutions of agar and the \u03b2-CD\/ARZ complex, followed by thawing. The main characteristics of the material, including gel fraction yield, swelling degree, pore volume, elastic properties, and morphology were studied in detail. The release of ARZ from composite cryogels was assessed in two media resembling the pH in stomach and intestine. The system exhibited a pH-dependent release of ARZ, with a slower rate in acidic media (pH 1.2) than in the neutral phosphate buffer (pH 6.8). Under in vitro conditions, the amount of released ARZ over 48 h reached 33%.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules30051051","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,25]],"date-time":"2025-02-25T10:55:48Z","timestamp":1740480948000},"page":"1051","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Agar\/\u03b2-Cyclodextrin Composite Cryogels for Controlled Release of Aripiprazole"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"30","author":[{"given":"Siyka","family":"Stoilova","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Polymers, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Georgy L.","family":"Georgiev","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Polymers, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5763-0730","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rositsa","family":"Mihaylova","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacology, Pharmacotherapy and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Sofia, 2 Dunav St., 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0296-2150","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bistra","family":"Kostova","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Sofia, 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5777-2066","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Petar D.","family":"Petrov","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Polymers, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria"},{"name":"Centre of Competence \u201cSustainable Utilization of Bio-Resources and Waste of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants for Innovative Bioactive Products\u201d (BioResources), 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2635","DOI":"10.2147\/NDT.S88117","article-title":"Aripiprazole: From pharmacological profile to clinical use","volume":"11","author":"Riva","year":"2015","journal-title":"Neuropsychiatr. 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