Advances in Protein Gels and Their Applications

Dear Colleagues,

In this Special Issue, we delve into the intricate world of proteins and their role in forming gels with diverse structures and functions. Proteins, with their complex 3D structures that are built from amino acids, are a rich natural resource. When they aggregate in water or aqueous solutions, they can create networks ranging from fine to coarse strands, ultimately forming gels.

Our exploration of protein gels encompasses a wide range of sources, ranging from casein, whey proteins, gelatin, and egg proteins derived from foods like eggs, milk, and meat, to structural proteins like keratins, collagens, silk, and amyloid fibrils. Enzymes can also be embedded within these gels, adding more functionalities. Additionally, many gels involve denatured and fibrillated proteins, thereby expanding the scope of potential applications.

In recent years, substantial research has focused on investigating the properties of protein gels, including their gelling or coagulating, foaming, and emulsifying properties. Physicochemical characteristics such as particle size, surface charge, hydrophobicity, secondary structural changes, and aggregation have also been extensively discussed. The mechanisms underlying heat-, high pressure-, ionic-, acid-, and enzyme-induced protein gel formation remain central to ongoing research endeavors.

Moreover, protein gels can be composed of a mixture of different carbohydrates or lipids found in food products such as cheese, yogurt, and egg custard. Understanding the intricacies of gel structures is crucial for achieving desired properties, which is fundamental in advancing this field. The recent advancements in colloid science, combined with emerging trends in nanotechnology, have sparked new ventures in protein gel research, thus presenting exciting opportunities for the domains of foods, energy, the environment, drug and nutraceutical delivery, biomedicine, and biomaterials.

The collection on the topic of “protein gels” aims to bring together significant contributions from researchers in academia and industry, highlighting advancements in protein gel science across various applications. Join us in this exploration of protein gels.

Dr. Qi Han
Dr. Junhua Li
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 2100 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.

• protein gels
• protein structure
• protein aggregation
• hydrogels
• gelling properties