Colloid science is an enabling field which has had, and continues to have, a major impact on drug delivery. Close collaboration and interaction of colloid scientists with pharmaceutical scientists has led to major developments in the field, such as liposomes, polymeric nanoparticles, structured materials for bioengineering, and effective gene transfection systems. Continuing this interaction will lead to future exciting developments and allow us to overcome the many persistent challenges in our field particularly in the distribution of drug carriers in the body and the ability to target specific tissues in the body.

With this in mind, the Malaysia Chapter of the Controlled Release Society convened a controlled release symposium as part of the 7th Asian Conference on Colloid & Interface Science in Kuala Lumpur, August 2017 (ACCIS 2017). This Special Issue of DDTR entitled “Guided Smart Materials for Targeted Applications” captures some of the interdisciplinary developments presented at the conference, and contains a number of review articles addressing the application of polymers and biomaterials for targeted applications. We trust that this special issue of DDTR will open the door of opportunity for new collaborations and the application of new materials that would effectively solve some of the vital issues concerning drug delivery systems.