Hierarchical dual confinement of thymoquinone in PLGA-PEG nanoparticles and a pectin-TEOS hydrogel enables phase-selective gastrointestinal release.
A hierarchical nanoparticle-in-hydrogel carrier in which thymoquinone is first confined within PLGA-PEG nanoparticles, which are then embedded within a pectin-TEOS hydrogel, creating two sequential levels of drug confinement is engineered to provide a basis for further development of pectin-based oral delivery systems.