Design, Characterization and Applications of Smart Hydrogels

A special issue of Gels (ISSN 2310-2861). This special issue belongs to the section "Gel Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 April 2025 | Viewed by 58

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Fiber and Biopolymer Research Institute, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79403, USA
Interests: soft matter; sustainable materials; polymer composites; cotton-based materials; smart gels

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Guest Editor
Fiber and Biopolymer Research Instutute, Department of Plant and Soil Science, Texas Tech University, P.O. Box 45019, Lubbock, TX 79403, USA
Interests: biopolymers; smart gels
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Smart hydrogels represent a versatile category of materials capable of altering their structure and characteristics in response to external stimuli, such as temperature, pH, light, and electric fields. These materials consist of hydrophilic polymer networks that have a remarkable capacity to soak up and hold substantial amounts of water. A distinctive feature of smart hydrogels is their reversible volumetric and shape changes when exposed to variations in their surrounding environment. This adaptability renders them highly suitable for numerous applications, including drug delivery, tissue engineering, sensors, and actuators. In summary, smart hydrogels offer significant promise across diverse fields due to their unique properties and adaptability.

This Special Issue, entitled Design, Characterization and Applications of  Smart Hydrogels, aims to highlight recent advances in research on functional gels materials. We welcome submissions including fundamental studies and application-focused research

Dr. Zhen Zhang
Prof. Dr. Noureddine Abidi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Gels is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • smart hydrogels
  • design
  • characterization
  • application
  • self-healing
  • stimuli-responsive materials
  • environmental sensitivity
  • drug delivery
  • tissue engineering
  • sensors
  • actuators
  • reversible volume change
  • shape adaptability

Published Papers

This special issue is now open for submission.
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