Recent Advances in Physical Gels and Their Applications

Dear Colleagues,

Gels have gained increasing attention due to the high demand for their use in fundamental research and practical applications. Gels are solid materials consisting of at least one substantially cross-linked network (including networks derived from polymers and low-molecular-weight gelators) and one liquid. Gels can be divided into two classes, namely chemical and physical gels, depending on the bonds involved. In the first case, the network is held together by covalent bonds, which make chemical gels hard to break and are usually irreversible. Physical gels, on the other hand, are held together by weak supramolecular interactions, such as π-π stacking and H-bonds, and for this reason, such gels are often called supramolecular gels. Physical gels are generally weaker than chemical gels and quite easy to break, but they are also usually easy to reform. The versatility of physical gels makes them applicable to many emerging and diverse fields, such as drug delivery, cell culture media, optoelectronics, biomineralization, water remediation, and cosmetics. 

In this Special Issue, we will focus on recent advances in the development of physical gels meant for a specific application. Papers that describe progresses involved in emerging applications of this class of smart materials are welcomed in this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Claudia Tomasini
Dr. Demetra Giuri
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.

• physical gels
• smart materials
• supramolecular gels
• self-assembly
• applications

Title: New Minimalistic Injectable Supramolecular Hydrogels Based on Dehydrotripeptides with Ultra-low Critical Gelation Concentration as Potential Drug Release Systems

Authors: Carlos Oliveira, André Carvalho, Renato Pereira, David Pereira, Loic Hilliou, Peter Jervis, José Martins and Paula Ferreira