{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T13:38:19Z","timestamp":1785418699482,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,12,17]],"date-time":"2022-12-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1671235200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"UniCA-Progetti biennali di Ateneo Finanziati dalla Fondazione di Sardegna 2018","award":["CUP F741I19000950007"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["CUP F741I19000950007"]}]},{"name":"UniCA-Progetti biennali di Ateneo Finanziati dalla Fondazione di Sardegna 2018","award":["P18-RT-3786"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["P18-RT-3786"]}]},{"name":"Project of Junta de Andalucia (Spain)","award":["CUP F741I19000950007"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["CUP F741I19000950007"]}]},{"name":"Project of Junta de Andalucia (Spain)","award":["P18-RT-3786"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["P18-RT-3786"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pharmaceutics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The poor water solubility of a significant number of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) remains one of the main challenges in the drug development process, causing low bioavailability and therapeutic failure of drug candidates. Curcumin is a well-known Biopharmaceutics Classification System (BCS) class IV drug, characterized by lipophilicity and low permeability, which hampers topical bioavailability. Given these premises, the aim of this work was the design and the development of curcumin nanocrystals and their incorporation into natural inorganic hydrogels for topical application. Curcumin nanocrystals were manufactured by the wet ball milling technique and then loaded in clay-based hydrogels. Bentonite and\/or palygorskite were selected as the inorganic gelling agents. Curcumin nanocrystal-loaded hydrogels were manufactured by means of a homogenization process and characterized with respect to their chemico-physical properties, in vitro release, antioxidant activity and skin permeation. The results highlighted that the presence of bentonite provided an increase of curcumin skin penetration and simultaneously allowed its radical scavenging properties, due to the desirable rheological characteristics, which should guarantee the necessary contact time of the gel with the skin.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pharmaceutics14122836","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,12,19]],"date-time":"2022-12-19T06:58:29Z","timestamp":1671433109000},"page":"2836","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":28,"title":["Clay-Based Hydrogels as Drug Delivery Vehicles of Curcumin Nanocrystals for Topical Application"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4192-5416","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marco","family":"Ruggeri","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Drug Sciences, University of Pavia, Viale Taramelli 12, 27100 Pavia, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6525-5723","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rita","family":"S\u00e1nchez-Espejo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9508-7222","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Luca","family":"Casula","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unit of Drug Sciences, Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Cagliari, 09124 Cagliari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Raquel de Melo","family":"Barbosa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6766-9321","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Giuseppina","family":"Sandri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Drug Sciences, University of Pavia, Viale Taramelli 12, 27100 Pavia, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2788-7823","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maria Cristina","family":"Cardia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unit of Drug Sciences, Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Cagliari, 09124 Cagliari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Francesco","family":"Lai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unit of Drug Sciences, Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Cagliari, 09124 Cagliari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2219-3566","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"C\u00e9sar","family":"Viseras","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,12,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"361","DOI":"10.2174\/1570193X17999200529100808","article-title":"A Comprehensive Review on Strategies for New Drug Discovery and Enhanced Productivity in Research and Development: Recent Advancements and Future Prospectives","volume":"18","author":"Adity","year":"2021","journal-title":"Mini-Rev. 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