Novel pectin-based carriers for colonic drug delivery.

Pectin-based hydrogel carriers have been studied and shown to have promising applications for drug delivery to the lower GI tract, especially to the colonic region. However, making sure these hydrogel carriers can pass through the upper GI tract and reach the targeted regions, after oral administration, still remains a challenge to overcome. A solution to this problem is to promote stronger cross-linking interactions within the pectin-based hydrogel network.