Research Advances in Natural Polymer-Based Hydrogels (Second Volume)
A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Biomaterials".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 October 2023) | Viewed by 526
Special Issue Editor
Interests: cellulose; hydrogel; cross-linking; nanocellulose; lignin; polyssacharides; drug release
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Following the success of the Special Issue “Research Advances in Natural Polymer-Based Hydrogels”, we are pleased to open a new Special Issue, which will include the state-of-the-art research in this field.
Hydrogels have tremendous potential in various applications due to their high water content, softness, flexibility, tunable physical and mechanical properties, relatively low cytotoxicity, and increased biocompatibility. There is a visible tendency to prepare hydrogels of more environmentally friendly materials, or which respond to the current health concerns, and natural polymers provide promising opportunities for both fundamental and applied research. The current trend in the design of hydrogels based on natural polymers is focused on improving the manufacturing process by using non-toxic cross-linking agents or safe chemical processes, in order to be used for medical applications, or agricultural and other industrial purposes.
In this Special Issue, we welcome any submissions related to hydrogels prepared from natural polymers (polysaccharides, proteins, polypeptides and polynucleotides) or composite hydrogels, in different forms, such as macrogels, microgels, nanogels, films, membranes, and beads. Recent progress in the design and synthesis of hydrogels and their properties, revealed using different complementary techniques; the challenges that need to be overcome; and the smart behavior of natural polymer-based hydrogels, are also welcome. All features associated with engineering in applications such as drug delivery systems, wound dressing, tissue engineering scaffolds, self-healing materials, and biosensors, are of particular interest to this Special Issue.
In this regard, it is our pleasure to invite you to contribute full papers, review articles and short communications that focus on recent advances and developments related to the natural polymer-based hydrogels, with particular attention to engineering and biomedical applications.
Dr. Diana Ciolacu
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- natural polymers
- stimuli-responsive hydrogels
- target-responsive hydrogels
- composite hydrogel
- nanocomposite hydrogels
- biomaterials
- drug delivery
- wound dressings
- tissue engineering
- hygiene products
- biosensing
- wearable devices
- bioseparations
- water treatment
- active food packaging
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