Functional Hydrogels for Drug Delivery Applications

Dear Colleagues,

Hydrogels (HGs) are versatile formulations holding immense promise as drug delivery and tissue engineering platforms. As gel-based systems that are three-dimensional, hydrophilic gels developed by networks of polymeric chains, HGs present the capability  to absorb and preserve large amounts of aqueous and/or biological fluids, simulating natural living tissue. Over the last decade, functional HGs have gained great attention due to their unique characteristics as porosity, high water content, biodegradability and biocompatibility, and mechanical properties.

Various materials, such as natural and synthetic macromolecules, have been introduced, leading to the development of functional hydrogels which can encapsulate drug molecules within their structure. Moreover, functional hydrogels can control drug release and target specific issue and organs. Furthermore, hydrogels can be formulated by stimuli-responsive materials responding  to specific stimuli such as pH, temperature or enzymes of the body, providing targeted delivery and minimizing the side-effects. Additionally, a promising approach is to design HGs  to deliver multiple drug molecules or to act as both diagnostic and therapeutic agents (theranostics). It should also be noted that the incorporation of mucoadhesive molecules in the polymeric network can improve the adherence of the system onto mucosal areas of the body. Depending on the chosen materials, various physical and chemical crosslinking methods have been applied to convert hydrophilic polymeric chains to hydrogels. Nevertheless, significant progress has been achieved in developing functional HGs, and HGs with enhanced biochemical and biomechanical properties which can mimic the tissue matrix should be further studied.

As such, we are pleased to invite you to submit your articles to this Special Issue on functional hydrogels for drug delivery applications. The scope of this issue is to represent up-to-date progress and latest innovations relating to functional hydrogels in the drug delivery field.

In this Special Issue, original research and review articles are both welcome. Research areas may include, but are not limited to, multifunctional hydrogels and stimuli-responsive hydrogels for ocular, dermal, buccal and per os delivery, as well as other administration routes. Moreover, articles summarizing hydrogel applications for both drug delivery and diagnosis are also welcome.

We eagerly anticipate receiving your contributions!

Dr. Panoraia I. Siafaka
Prof. Dr. Neslihan Üstündaǧ Okur
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. Journal of Functional Biomaterials 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 2700 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.

• hydrogels
• functional
• stimuli-responsive
• therapy
• diagnosis
• polymeric
• theranostics