Announcements

The 2022 citation metrics have been released in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR), and we’re pleased to announce the following results for MDPI journals:

We are thrilled to announce that 90% of our ranked MDPI journals, specifically 86 out of 96 (captured in the table below), are performing above average in Q1 or Q2. This year, Clarivate has expanded its Impact Factor (IF) awards to include journals in the Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI) and the Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI), providing greater transparency for the full set of journals indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection. As a result, 111 of MDPI journals have received their first IF in 2023, with 37 journals surpassing an IF of 3.0. In total, 208 MDPI journals have been honored with an IF.

Clarivate explains that by "expanding the coverage but holding to highly selective standards, the [Impact Factor] is now a reliable indicator of trustworthiness, as well as a measure of scholarly impact, at the journal level."

Please visit our blog post where we discuss the release of the latest citation metrics with our Indexing Manager, Dr. Constanze Schelhorn, to find out what's different this time around and how to make use of different metrics available.

Note: The Journal of Personalized Medicine's Impact Factor was omitted in the original release and will be assigned separately. Please find the data on the journal webpage in due course.

Source: 2022 Journal Impact Factors, Journal Citation Reports ^TM (Clarivate, 2023)

The 3^rd National Cellulose Symposium of the Chinese Chemical Society will be held from 8 to 11 August 2023, in Guiyang, Guizhou, China. The conference is hosted by the Chinese Chemical Society and is organized by the School of Materials and Metallurgy of Guizhou University. 

Topics include the following:

• Functional structure and application of cellulose-based materials;
• Basic theory and function of nanocellulose;
• Efficient green conversion of cellulose;
• Separation, structure, modification, and application of lignin;
• Development and utilization of other biomass resources;
• Natural polymer energy storage, smart materials, and devices;
• Cellulose chemicals and cellulose recycled materials industry forum. 

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Polymers;
• Gels;
• Fibers;
• Polysaccharides;
• Macromol;
• Materials;
• Membranes. 

If you are attending this conference, please feel free to start an online conversation with us. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person at booth #2 and answering any questions that you may have. For more information about the conference, please visit the following link: https://www.chemsoc.org.cn/meeting/home/m484.

A range of MDPI journals will be attending the 2023 National Polymer Academic Paper Conference of the Chinese Chemical Society as exhibitors. This meeting will be held in Wuhan, China, from 13 to 17 October 2023. 

The National Polymer Academic Paper Conference of the Chinese Chemical Society, which has been held every two years since 1954, is the most important, largest and most influential academic conference in the field of polymers in China. The 2023 National Polymer Academic Paper Conference of the Chinese Chemical Society will be held in Wuhan from 13 to 17 October. It will be sponsored by the Polymer Science Committee of the Chinese Chemical Society and Huazhong University of Science and Technology. 

The conference will take the important function of polymer science and technology in the new era of national economy and society as the entry point. It will focus on showing the research results and development trends of our country’s polymer science and materials field in recent years. It provides a broad academic and technical exchange platform for those sci-tech, education, and industry workers and young students who conduct research and development in the field. The aim is to promote the sustainable development and innovation of polymer science, improve the level of interdisciplinary and cutting-edge research of polymer-related disciplines, connect with the major national needs, overcome the core and key technical problems, and promote the transformation of scientific research results. 

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Polymers;
• IJMS;
• Molecules;
• Gels;
• Membranes;
• Crystals;
• Polysaccharides;
• Symmetry;
• Fibers. 

If you are attending this conference, please feel free to start a conversation with us at our booth. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person and answering any questions that you may have. 

For more information about the conference, please visit https://www.bagevent.com/event/8282755/p/504954.

Conference: 13th National Symposium on the Molecular and Structural Characterization of Polymers
Date: 31 March–2 April 2023
Place: Shenzhen, China 

MDPI will be attending the 13th National Symposium on the Molecular and Structural Characterization of Polymers as an exhibitor. This meeting will be held at Hyatt Regency Shenzhen Yantian, Shenzhen, China, from 31 March to 2 April 2023. The organizing committee consists of the Polymer Materials Analytical Technology and Characteristic Methods Committee of Chinese Chemical Society. Through this meeting, we wish to contribute to the discussion on the progress in the field of polymer characterization. 

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Polymers;
• Gels;
• Colloids and Interfaces;
• Symmetry;
• Surfaces;
• IJMS;
• Macromol;
• Nanomaterials;
• Analytica. 

If you are attending this conference, please feel free to start a conversation with us. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person and answering any questions that you may have. For more information about the conference, please visit https://poly-struc2022.scievent.com/.

As a leading open access publisher, MDPI provides scholars with a high-quality and rich academic exchange platform by continuously expanding into new and exciting research areas.

In December 2022, MDPI launched five new journals, covering multiple subjects such as life sciences, biology, medicine and pharmacology, social sciences and humanities. These new journals are being edited by established scholars across the world.

If you are interested in creating more open access journals with us to publish cutting-edge research, please send your journal proposal application to newjournal-committee@mdpi.com.

MDPI will be attending the 18th Chinese Conference on Colloid and Interface Chemistry (CCIC18), hosted by the Colloid and Interface Chemistry Professional Committee of the Chinese Chemical Society and Shaanxi Normal University, which will be held from 7 to 11 April 2023 in Xi’an, China.

This conference will exchange hot topics, research progress, development trends, personnel training in the field of colloid and interface chemistry, and the important application of colloid and interface chemistry in industrial and agricultural production through conference reports, invited reports, oral presentations, and posters. A total of 2000 delegates are expected to attend.

The main topics of the conference include the following: new theories and technologies in colloid and interface chemistry; ordered assembly of amphiphilic molecules; soft matter chemistry and supramolecular assembly; functional micro-nano materials; superwetting interface and material transport; optoelectronic functional assemblies and surface interfaces; biomolecular self-assembly and biocolloids; colloid motors; food colloids; applied colloid; and interface chemistry.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Molecules;
• Coatings;
• Colloids and Interfaces;
• Surfaces;
• Polymers;
• Gels.

If you plan on attending this conference, please feel free to stop by our booth (#31) and start a conversation with us. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person and answering any questions that you may have. For more information about the conference, please visit: https://www.nccic18.cn/.

MDPI is pleased to announce that we now display the co-authors’ email addresses in addition to the corresponding author’s email address on the webpage of published papers, protected by Captcha. For more information about this change, please visit the journal’s instructions for authors page. 

We believe this change will facilitate academic discussions and advance our cause of open science and research. The corresponding authors are responsible for communicating with their co-authors and indicating in our system (https://susy.mdpi.com/) if co-authors would prefer for their email addresses not to be displayed.

On 9 February 2023, Clarivate, a global leader in providing trusted insights and analytics, added the Preprint Citation Index to the Web of Science platform, streamlining the research process by allowing researchers to locate and link to preprints alongside other trusted content in the database.

The Preprint Citation Index will act as a bridge to connect cutting-edge preprints with peer-reviewed journal articles published within the Web of Science Core Collection. Alerts can be easily set to monitor new research across several repositories and authors will also be able to include preprints on their Web of Science Research Profile to more accurately display their various research outputs.

As of its launch, the Preprint Citation Index will provide nearly two million preprints from various repositories, including MDPI’s own Preprints.org.

MDPI's Preprints Platform – Preprints.org

To advance Open Science and the fast dissemination of research, MDPI offers researchers a free multidisciplinary preprint platform. Preprints.org accepts submissions from all research areas and offers authors high visibility, permanent archiving, article-level Metrics and immediately citable content by assigning a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) to all preprints.

During submission to any MDPI journal, authors have the option to share their research as a preprint. After an initial screening, the manuscript is available online in 48 hours or less. Once online, preprints can be downloaded, shared, commented on, and cited, providing authors maximum visibility.

We invite you to join the ranks of the over 100k researchers using Preprints.org and share your research.

For more information, please visit Preprints.org.

1. “Electrospun Core (HPMC–Acetaminophen)–Shell (PVP–Sucralose) Nanohybrids for Rapid Drug Delivery”
by Xinkuan Liu, Mingxin Zhang, Wenliang Song, Yu Zhang, Deng-Guang Yu and Yanbo Liu
Gels 2022, 8(6), 357; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels8060357
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/8/6/357

2. “Natural Hydrogel-Based Bio-Inks for 3D Bioprinting in Tissue Engineering: A Review”
by Ahmed Fatimi, Oseweuba Valentine Okoro, Daria Podstawczyk, Julia Siminska-Stanny and Amin Shavandi
Gels 2022, 8(3), 179; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels8030179
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/8/3/179

3. “Evaluation of Artificial Intelligence Methods to Estimate the Compressive Strength of Geopolymers”
by Yong Zou, Chao Zheng, Abdullah Mossa Alzahrani, Waqas Ahmad, Ayaz Ahmad, Abdeliazim Mustafa Mohamed, Rana Khallaf and Samia Elattar
Gels 2022, 8(5), 271; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels8050271
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/8/5/271

4. “Recent Advances in Zwitterionic Hydrogels: Preparation, Property, and Biomedical Application”
by Sihang Liu, Jingyi Tang, Fangqin Ji, Weifeng Lin and Shengfu Chen
Gels 2022, 8(1), 46; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels8010046
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/8/1/46

5. “Preparation and Evaluation of Chitosan/PVA Based Hydrogel Films Loaded with Honey for Wound Healing Application”
by Hitesh Chopra, Shabana Bibi, Sandeep Kumar, Muhammad Saad Khan, Pradeep Kumar and Inderbir Singh
Gels 2022, 8(2), 111; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels8020111
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/8/2/111

6. “Chitosan/Pluronic F127 Thermosensitive Hydrogel as an Injectable Dexamethasone Delivery Carrier”
by Jomarien García-Couce, Miriela Tomás, Gastón Fuentes, Ivo Que, Amisel Almirall and Luis J. Cruz
Gels 2022, 8(1), 44; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels8010044
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/8/1/44

7. “Inherent and Composite Hydrogels as Promising Materials to Limit Antimicrobial Resistance”
by Rahela Carpa, Alexei Remizovschi, Carla Andreea Culda and Anca Livia Butiuc-Keul
Gels 2022, 8(2), 70; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels8020070
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/8/2/70

8. “Improving the Self-Healing of Cementitious Materials with a Hydrogel System”
by Hao Wang, Mohammad Habibi, Riadh Marzouki, Ali Majdi, Morteza Shariati, Nebojsa Denic, Aleksandar Zakić, Majid Khorami, Mohamed Amine Khadimallah and Ahmed Abdel Khalek Ebid
Gels 2022, 8(5), 278; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels8050278
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/8/5/278

9. “Functional Hydrogels for Treatment of Chronic Wounds”
by Ilayda Firlar, Mine Altunbek, Colleen McCarthy, Murugan Ramalingam and Gulden Camci-Unal
Gels 2022, 8(2), 127; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels8020127
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/8/2/127

We are pleased to announce the launch of a new initiative—the MDPI Special Issue Mentor Program.

This program will enable early career researchers (who must hold a Ph.D. in a related field) to experience editing a Special Issue in MDPI journals, under the mentorship of our experienced Editorial Board Members or other experienced scientists. The mentor program will provide an excellent opportunity for early career scientists to gain editorial experience, and to cultivate their ability to edit scientific research.

The mentee’s responsibilities include:

• Proposing a Special Issue title and assisting the mentor in preparing a summary (around 200–400 words) and 3–10 keywords describing the background, importance, and goal of the Issue;
• Writing a brief promotion plan for the Special Issue;
• Preparing a list of scholars who may be interested in the Issue and personally e-mailing invitations on behalf of Guest Editors;
• Writing an editorial for the online Special Issue together with the mentor.

The mentor’s responsibilities include:

• Conducting a final check before the Special Issue is published online;
• Performing editorial control of the Special Issue and quality control of the publications, both of which must be carried out in a timely manner;
• Providing suggestions to younger scholars if they have any doubts or concerns regarding submissions;
• Organizing video calls with young scholars and the Editorial Office regularly to discuss problems and improvement suggestions for the Special Issue;
• Making and submitting decisions regarding submissions with the assistance of mentees.

Certificates and awards:
After the Special Issue closes, the Editorial Office will provide official certificates for all the mentors and early career researchers.

If you are interested in this opportunity, please send your Special Issue proposal to the Editorial Office of a journal you choose, and we will discuss the process (i.e., mentor collaboration, Special Issue topic feasibility analysis, etc.) in further detail. The full list of MDPI journals is as follows: https://www.mdpi.com/about/journals.

In addition to the new Special Issue Mentor Program, we will continue to welcome all Special Issue proposals focusing on hot research topics.