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Polymers
Special Issues
Structure, Characterization, Performance, Applications of Polymer-Based Functional Hydrogels
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Structure, Characterization, Performance, Applications of Polymer-Based Functional Hydrogels

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 February 2024) | Viewed by 2692

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Yuesheng Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Hubei Key Laboratory of Radiation Chemistry and Functional Materials, Non-Power Nuclear Technology Collaborative Innovation Center, Hubei University of Science and Technology, Xianning 437100, China
Interests: intelligent hydrogel; photocatalysis; radiation technology and functional material preparation; deep processing and high-value development of agricultural and forestry products
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Yiwan Huang

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
Hubei Provincial Key Laboratory of Green Materials for Light Industry, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, China
Interests: tough hydrogel; composite hydrogel; structure-property relationship; functional hydrogel; toughening and strengthening mechanism
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Xiaojie Yang

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
Non-Power Nuclear Technology Collaborative Innovation Center & Hubei Key Laboratory of Radiation Chemistry and Functional Materials, Hubei University of Science and Technology, Xianning, China
Interests: Intelligent hydrogel; photocatalysis; radiation technology and functional material preparation; photoelectric functional materials and devices

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Polymer-based functional hydrogels, which are usually composed of colloidal particles or gel factors, are a kind of condensed matter with three-dimensional network space structure and filled with a dispersion medium. Polymer-based functional hydrogels not only have porous structure and high specific surface area, but also have active functional groups such as hydroxyl, carboxyl and amino groups on the surface of the hydrogel network, which is conducive to the coordination (or loading) of functional groups, ions and nanoparticles. It has great application value in the fields of photocatalysis, antibacterial, wound dressing, 3D printing, biological effect electrocatalysis, etc. Therefore, it is particularly important to study the synthesis method, performance and structure of hydrogels, which provide a reference for the design, synthesis and further development and utilization of hydrogels.

The aim of this Special Issue is to understand the relationship between the structure and performance of polymer-based functional hydrogels. In addition, we invite contributions concerning property characterizations and applications of structure-modified polymers. We hope that researchers working on these topics will provide valuable contributions to this Special Issue of Polymers.

Prof. Dr. Yuesheng Li
Dr. Yiwan Huang
Dr. Xiaojie Yang
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. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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.

Keywords

  • functional hydrogel
  • double network
  • performance testing
  • characterization and analysis
  • hydrogel-based photocatalyst
  • antibacterial activity
  • wound dressing
  • 3D printable
  • tissue engineering
  • biological effect

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 15491 KiB  
Article
Mesoporous Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles—Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) Hydrogel Prepared by Electron Beam Irradiation Inhibits the Proliferation and Migration of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cells
by Huangqin Chen, Yuzhu Hu, Chizhou Wu, Kun Liu, Rui Feng, Mingzhe Yang, Mengyao Zhao, Bin Huang and Yuesheng Li
Polymers 2023, 15(18), 3659; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15183659 - 5 Sep 2023
Viewed by 991
Abstract
An urgently needed approach for the treatment of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the development of novel drug delivery systems that offer targeted specificity and minimal toxic side effects. In this study, we developed an injectable and temperature-sensitive composite hydrogel by combining [...] Read more.
An urgently needed approach for the treatment of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the development of novel drug delivery systems that offer targeted specificity and minimal toxic side effects. In this study, we developed an injectable and temperature-sensitive composite hydrogel by combining mesoporous titanium dioxide nanoparticles (MTNs) with Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAM) hydrogel to serve as carriers for the model drug Astragalus polysaccharide (APS) using electron beam irradiation. The characteristics of MTNs, including specific surface area and pore size distribution, were analyzed, and the characteristics of MTNs-APS@Hyaluronic acid (HA), such as microscopic morphology, molecular structure, crystal structure, and loading efficiency, were examined. Additionally, the swelling ratio, gel fraction, and microscopic morphology of the composite hydrogel were observed. The in vitro cumulative release curve was plotted to investigate the sustained release of APS in the composite hydrogels. The effects on the proliferation, migration, and mitochondrial membrane potential of CAL-27 cells were evaluated using MTT assay, scratch test, and JC-1 staining. The results indicated successful preparation of MTNs with a specific surface area of 147.059 m2/g and an average pore diameter of 3.256 nm. The composite hydrogel displayed temperature-sensitive and porous characteristics, allowing for slow release of APS. Furthermore, it effectively suppressed CAL-27 cells proliferation, migration, and induced changes in mitochondrial membrane potential. The addition of autophagy inhibitors chloroquine (CQ) and 3-methyladenine (3-MA) attenuated the migration inhibition (p < 0.05). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Structure, Characterization, Performance, Applications of Polymer-Based Functional Hydrogels)
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18 pages, 4094 KiB  
Article
Toughening Weak Polyampholyte Hydrogels with Weak Chain Entanglements via a Secondary Equilibrium Approach
by Tao Liu, Wenjun Chen, Kai Li, Shijun Long, Xuefeng Li and Yiwan Huang
Polymers 2023, 15(12), 2644; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15122644 - 10 Jun 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1193
Abstract
Polyampholyte (PA) hydrogels are randomly copolymerized from anionic and cationic monomers, showing good mechanical properties owing to the existence of numerous ionic bonds in the networks. However, relatively tough PA gels can be synthesized successfully only at high monomer concentrations (CM [...] Read more.
Polyampholyte (PA) hydrogels are randomly copolymerized from anionic and cationic monomers, showing good mechanical properties owing to the existence of numerous ionic bonds in the networks. However, relatively tough PA gels can be synthesized successfully only at high monomer concentrations (CM), where relatively strong chain entanglements exist to stabilize the primary supramolecular networks. This study aims to toughen weak PA gels with relatively weak primary topological entanglements (at relatively low CM) via a secondary equilibrium approach. According to this approach, an as-prepared PA gel is first dialyzed in a FeCl3 solution to reach a swelling equilibrium and then dialyzed in sufficient deionized water to remove excess free ions to achieve a new equilibrium, resulting in the modified PA gels. It is proved that the modified PA gels are eventually constructed by both ionic and metal coordination bonds, which could synergistically enhance the chain interactions and enable the network toughening. Systematic studies indicate that both CM and FeCl3 concentration (CFeCl3) influence the enhancement effectiveness of the modified PA gels, although all the gels could be dramatically enhanced. The mechanical properties of the modified PA gel could be optimized at CM = 2.0 M and CFeCl3 = 0.3 M, where the Young’s modulus, tensile fracture strength, and work of tension are improved by 1800%, 600%, and 820%, respectively, comparing to these of the original PA gel. By selecting a different PA gel system and diverse metal ions (i.e., Al3+, Mg2+, Ca2+), we further prove that the proposed approach is generally appliable. A theoretical model is used to understand the toughening mechanism. This work well extends the simple yet general approach for the toughening of weak PA gels with relatively weak chain entanglements. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Structure, Characterization, Performance, Applications of Polymer-Based Functional Hydrogels)
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