Organogels and Their Use as Drug Delivery Vehicles

Organogels are one of the main components of a group of gels that are noncrystalline and viscoelastic in nature and show three-dimensional and cross-linked networks in the organic liquid phase. Applications of organogels include their use in chemistry, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries, biotechnology and food technology. Unfortunately, in recent years, the use of organogels as drug delivery systems has faced problems due to the toxicity of selective organic solvents. But recently, the synthesis of biocompatible organogels has led to the development of several biomedical and pharmaceutical applications. In this article, hydrogels are briefly reviewed, followed by a more in-depth review of gels that have been investigated for drug delivery. Over the past two decades, organogels have made significant advances as drug delivery matrices. The favorable and impressive performance of organogels is due to their ease of preparation, cost-effectiveness and their ability to have hydrophilic and lipophilic compounds. The ability of organogels to incorporate hydrophilic and hydrophobic compounds into their structure has expanded the use of organogels in various drug delivery systems. Organogels are used as drug delivery platforms to administer the active agent through various routes such as dermal, oral and injectable.