It is a drug delivery system that is in a solution form before the administration in the body but it converts into a gel form after the administration. There are various routes such as oral, ocular, vaginal, rectal, intravenous, intraperitoneal, etc.
Advantages of In Situ Gel:
• They have ease of administration.
• In-situ gel shows improved local bioavailability.
• They possess reduced dose concentration and reduced dosing frequency.
• It allows improved patient compliance and comfort.
• It can be administered by unconscious patients.
• Drug gets released in a sustained and controlled manner.
• Natural polymers have inherent properties of biocompatibility, biodegradability, and biologically recognizable moieties that support cellular activities.
• Synthetic polymers usually have well-defined structures that can be modified to yield tailorable degradability and functionality.
• In-situ gels can also be engineered to exhibit bio adhesiveness to facilitate drug targeting, especially through mucous membranes, for non-invasive drug administration.
• In-situ gels offer an important “stealth” characteristic in vivo, owing to their hydrophilicity. This increases the delivery device's in-vivo circulation time by evading the host immune response and decreasing phagocytic activities.
• Simple formulation and manufacturing so less investment
and cost.