Announcements

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.

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

This program intends to provide an opportunity for early career scientists to enhance their editing, networking, and organizational skills and to work closely with our journal to gain more editorial experience. Early career scientists who have novel ideas for new Gels Special Issues will act as Guest Editors under the mentorship of an experienced scientist; this mentor could be a member of the Editorial Board of Gels (ISSN: 2310-2861) or, for example, from other well-established research institutes or laboratories.

The mentee’s responsibilities include:

• Providing a CV, including a list of publications;
• Proposing a Special Issue title and a short introduction;
• Writing a brief promotion plan for the Special Issue;
• Writing an editorial for the online Special Issue;
• Reviewing and making decisions for submissions under the mentorship of our Editorial Board Members.

The mentor’s responsibilities include:

• Conducting a final check before the Special Issue is published online;
• Co-editing the Special Issue with the young scholars and performing quality control of the publications in the Special Issue;
• Providing suggestions to the young scholars if they have doubts or concerns regarding submissions;
• Organizing video calls with the young scholars and the office regularly to discuss problems and improvement suggestions for the Special Issue.

Certificates and awards:
When the Special Issue is closed, the Editorial Office will provide official certificates for all the mentors and mentees.

If you are interested in this opportunity, please send your Special Issue proposal to the Gels Editorial Office (gels@mdpi.com), and we will discuss the process (mentor collaboration, Special Issue topic feasibility analysis, etc.) in further detail.

In addition to the new Special Issue Mentor Program, Gels continues to welcome all Special Issue proposals based on hot research topics as usual.

Gels Editorial Office

MDPI has just become the first open access (OA) publisher to reach the milestone of one million articles published. That is one million articles freely available to all, to circulate and build upon! We are proud to share this special moment with the global scientific community.

This landmark has been reached thanks to the immeasurable support of more than 600,000 expert reviewers, 66,000 editorial board members and 6700 hard-working colleagues across MDPI’s global offices.

Within more than 25 years of publishing, our journals received 2.1 million manuscripts and generated 4.6 million peer review reports to get to one million papers published.

Reaching the milestone of one million articles published reinforces our mission to remove any existing barriers and to make scientific research accessible to all. Since its inception, MDPI’s goal has been to create reliable processes to make science open. This is a path towards facilitating the dissemination of novel insights in scientific communities.

Regular feedback from authors and reviewers shows that our service is greatly appreciated and needed. At the same time, the feedback helps us identify areas for further improvement.

As it stands, a significant share of published research findings remain closed access. More than half of the content published with the most well-known legacy publishers stays behind a paywall, and that is not including articles published in hybrid OA journals, or made available months or years after publication.

A new policy announced by the US administration in August 2022 requires that, as of January 2026, all US federally funded research be made freely and immediately available after publication. While the new policy does not mandate articles be published under an open access license, it is aligned with the open access movement in removing all barriers to research. Similarly, some of the most advanced research institutions in the world intend to have all funded research articles published in open access by 2025.

MDPI is proud to be the leading agent of the transition to open access.

"Thanks a Million" to all the contributors!

We are pleased to announce that the website of the MDPI Sustainability Foundation has been revamped! For the past couple of months, our UX UI team and front-end developers have been working hard to launch the website in time for the opening of the Sustainability Awards nominations.

The website is not the only thing that has had a remodeling. Indeed, the format of the Emerging Sustainability Leader Award (ESLA) has been updated. ESLA is now a competition open to individual researchers or start-ups founded by researchers under the age of 35. Nominee applications will go through 2 rounds of selection until the final 3 are decided. The finalists will then be invited to give pitch presentations during the Award Ceremony to win either first place (10,000 USD) or runner-up (2 x 5000 USD).

The World Sustainability Award, on the other hand, remains the same: a total prize money of 100,000 USD is up for grabs by senior individual researchers or groups of researchers from the international research community.

Nominations for both the World Sustainability Award and the Emerging Sustainability Leader award are now open! Check out our new website for more information on how to nominate.

1. “Coating and Functionalization Strategies for Nanogels and Nanoparticles for Selective Drug Delivery”
by Filippo Pinelli, Giuseppe Perale and Filippo Rossi
Gels 2020, 6(1), 6; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels6010006
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/6/1/6

2. “Cryostructuring of Polymeric Systems. 55. Retrospective View on the More than 40 Years of Studies Performed in the A.N.Nesmeyanov Institute of Organoelement Compounds with Respect of the Cryostructuring Processes in Polymeric Systems”
by Vladimir I. Lozinsky
Gels 2020, 6(3), 29; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels6030029
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/6/3/29

3. “Thermoresponsive Nanogels Based on Different Polymeric Moieties for Biomedical Applications”
by Sobhan Ghaeini-Hesaroeiye, Hossein Razmi Bagtash, Soheil Boddohi, Ebrahim Vasheghani-Farahani and Esmaiel Jabbari
Gels 2020, 6(3), 20; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels6030020
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/6/3/20

4. “Quaternization of Composite Algal/PEI Beads for Enhanced Uranium Sorption—Application to Ore Acidic Leachate”
by Mohammed F. Hamza, Amal E. Mubark, Yuezou Wei, Thierry Vincent and Eric Guibal
Gels 2020, 6(2), 12; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels6020012
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/6/2/12

5. “Stimuli-Responsive Hydrogels for Local Post-Surgical Drug Delivery”
by Esfandyar Askari, Amir Seyfoori, Meitham Amereh, Sadaf Samimi Gharaie, Hanieh Sadat Ghazali, Zahra Sadat Ghazali, Bardia Khunjush and Mohsen Akbari
Gels 2020, 6(2), 14; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels6020014
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/6/2/14

6. “Tailoring Properties of Mixed-Component Oleogels: Wax and Monoglyceride Interactions Towards Flaxseed Oil Structuring”
by Noadia G. Barroso, Paula K. Okuro, Ana P. B. Ribeiro and Rosiane L. Cunha
Gels 2020, 6(1), 5; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels6010005
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/6/1/5

7. “Bioprinted Three-Dimensional Cell-Laden Hydrogels to Evaluate Adipocyte-Breast Cancer Cell Interactions”
by Sarah Chaji, Jenna Al-Saleh and Cheryl T. Gomillion
Gels 2020, 6(1), 10; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels6010010
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/6/1/10

8. “Characterization of Enriched Meat-Based Pâté Manufactured with Oleogels as Fat Substitutes”
by Artur J. Martins, José M. Lorenzo, Daniel Franco, Mirian Pateiro, Rubén Domínguez, Paulo E. S. Munekata, Lorenzo M. Pastrana, António A. Vicente, Rosiane L. Cunha and Miguel A. Cerqueira
Gels 2020, 6(2), 17; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels6020017
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/6/2/17

9. “Matrix Remodeling and Hyaluronan Production by Myofibroblasts and Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts in 3D Collagen Matrices”
by Jiranuwat Sapudom, Claudia Damaris Müller, Khiet-Tam Nguyen, Steve Martin, Ulf Anderegg and Tilo Pompe
Gels 2020, 6(4), 33; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels6040033
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/6/4/33

10. “New Horizons in Hydrogels for Methotrexate Delivery”
by Ali Dehshahri, Anuj Kumar, Vijay Sagar Madamsetty, Ilona Uzieliene, Shima Tavakol, Fereshteh Azedi, Hojjat Samareh Fekri, Ali Zarrabi, Reza Mohammadinejad and Vijay Kumar Thakur
Gels 2021, 7(1), 2; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels7010002
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/7/1/2

1. “Advances in Bio-Based Polymers for Colorectal Cancer Treatment: Hydrogels and Nanoplatforms”
by Anna Maspes, Fabio Pizzetti, Arianna Rossetti, Pooyan Makvandi, Giovanni Sitia and Filippo Rossi
Gels 2021, 7(1), 6; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels7010006
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/7/1/6

2. “Experimental Verification of the Balance between Elastic Pressure and Ionic Osmotic Pressure of Highly Swollen Charged Gels”
by Tasuku Nakajima, Ken-ichi Hoshino, Honglei Guo, Takayuki Kurokawa and Jian Ping Gong
Gels 2021, 7(2), 39; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels7020039
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/7/2/39

3. “Design and Fabrication of Sodium Alginate/Carboxymethyl Cellulose Sodium Blend Hydrogel for Artificial Skin”
by Kun Zhang, Yanen Wang, Qinghua Wei, Xinpei Li, Ying Guo and Shan Zhang
Gels 2021, 7(3), 115; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels7030115
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/7/3/115

4. “Advanced Methods for the Characterization of Supramolecular Hydrogels”
by Bridget R. Denzer, Rachel J. Kulchar, Richard B. Huang and Jennifer Patterson
Gels 2021, 7(4), 158; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels7040158
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/7/4/158

We are pleased to announce the winner of the Gels 2022 Travel Award. The award has been granted to Dr. Lan Xiao, a postdoctoral researcher in the School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering, Queensland University of Technology, Australia.

Dr. Lan Xiao is an outstanding early career researcher in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Her research mainly focuses on developing potential therapeutic approaches to induce/improve tissue regeneration (e.g., bone regeneration, neuronal regeneration, wound healing, and vascular regeneration) by modulating the immune system to ensure the local environment is beneficial for regeneration. She has 47 published journal papers, including those in top journals such as Materials today (IF: 31.041), Nano letters (IF: 11.238), Advanced Functional Materials (IF: 18.808), Advanced Science (IF: 16.806), Autophagy (IF: 16.016), Chemical Engineering (IF: 13.273), and Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B (IF: 11.413). Her publications have been cited 11320 times with a H-index of 16 (Google scholar), and 55.6% of them were published in the top 10% journals worldwide, which is significantly above the average as indicated by her FWCI of 6.38 (SciVal). This includes an international collaborative (88.9% of them were co-authored with researchers in foreign countries/regions) and cross-disciplinary reach (10 research areas including medicine, engineering and material science; SciVal). She has co-supervised six HDR students and three visiting-scholars, co-led multiple national and international projects (contributed to 23 papers), and attracted $117,321 CI funding (CIA: $67,321).

As the awardee, Dr. Lan Xiao will receive an honorarium of CHF 500 and an electronic certificate.

We would like to thank all the applicants for submitting their diverse and fascinating range of research topics.

Prof. Dr. David Díaz Díaz
Editor-in-Chief of Gels

We are pleased to announce that Prof. Dr. Esmaiel Jabbari has been appointed Editor-in-Chief of the Section “Gel Chemistry and Physics” in Gels (ISSN: 2310-2861, IF: 4.432).

Prof. Dr. Esmaiel Jabbari is a tenured full professor of chemical and biomedical engineering at the University of South Carolina. He directs the Biomaterials, Tissue Engineering, and Drug Delivery Laboratory to understand the role of stem cells in tissue maintenance and disease progression by creating 3D multi-cellular soft tissue models and organoids. He received the Berton Rahn Award from AO Foundation, the Stephen Milam Award from the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Foundation for his research, and is a Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE). He has authored more than 130 refereed journal articles and he serves as the Academic Editor for PLOS One and Associate Editor for Gels.

The following is a short Q&A with Prof. Dr. Esmaiel Jabbari, who shared his vision for the Section with us as well as his views on the research area and open access publishing:

1. What appealed to you about the journal that made you want to take the role as its Section Editor-in-Chief?
As I have been conducting research on hydrogels and their application in medicine and pharmacy for the past two decades, the subject of gels, especially their chemistry and physics, is very special to me. The openness of Gels to understanding the chemistry and physics of gels at their fundamental level as well as the applied and product development level appeals to me. The fact that the Section is open to all researchers around the world also appeals to me. The fact that submissions to the Section are reviewed based on the quality of research, not on research results, novelty, or reputation of researchers, is also very important to me.

2. What is your vision for the Section?
My vision for this Section is for it to serve as a platform for researchers around the world for presentation and discussion of the latest advances in chemistry, structure, physics, biology, mathematical modeling and simulation, to all researchers around the world for the purpose of improving people’s quality of life through education and the development of novel gel-based products.

3. What does the future of this field of research look like, in your view?
Gels play a major role in the development of sustainable, biodegradable, environmentally friendly materials to fight global warming as well as other global challenges. There is a need for a greater understanding of the chemistry and physics of self-assembly and structure formation in gels at all scales from molecular to nano-, meso-, micro- and macroscale to design novel gels that meet these challenges.

4. What do you think of the development of open access in the publishing field?
Today’s challenges are not local; they are global. As such, it is important for the message of science to reach all people around the world. Open access allows all people to participate in finding solutions to global challenges.

5. Who should contribute to this Section?
Any researcher who has uncovered, discovered, or observed new and interesting information/phenomena about chemistry, physics, biology, and structure of gels.

We are pleased to announce that Prof. Dr. Jean-Michel Guenet has been appointed Editor-in-Chief of the Section “Gel Analysis and Characterization” in Gels (ISSN: 2310-2861). Prof. Dr. Jean-Michel Guenet is an emeritus director of research at the CNRS and former director of the Institut Charles Sadron, a CNRS laboratory associated with the University of Strasbourg, devoted to the study and development of polymers and self-assembled systems. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Strasbourg (formerly Louis Pasteur University) and a degree in materials engineering from the University of Paris. He completed a post-doctoral stay with Prof. A. Keller in Bristol, was a visiting scientist at the NIST in Washington, D.C., and was a visiting professor at Mons University (Belgium) and at the Shizuoka University (Japan).

His research interests span from the study of polymer thermoreversible gelation, polymer-solvent molecular compounds, self-assembled systems, and organogels to hybrid polymer gel/organogel functional materials. He is a specialist in calorimetry (phase diagrams), radiation scattering techniques (neutrons and X-rays), and rheology. He has published about 180 peer-reviewed papers, 3 books (Thermoreversible Gelation of Polymers and Biopolyers, Acad. Press, 1992, Polymer-Solvent Molecular Compounds, Elsevier, 2008, and Organogels: Thermodynamics, Structure, Solvent Role and Properties, Springer, 2016). He has mentored about 30 Ph.D. students and post-doctoral fellows. In 1990 he was awarded the John H. Dillon Medal of the American Physical Society for “distinguished research on polymer chain conformation in semi-crystalline polymers and for major contributions to the understanding of the nature of the gel state”.

The following is a short Q&A with Prof. Dr. Jean-Michel Guenet, who shared his vision for the journal with us, as well as his views of the research area and open access publishing: 

1. What appealed to you about the journal that made you want to take the role as its Section Editor-in-Chief?
I am a specialist in polymer thermoreversible gels and organogels. I have written two books on this topic: Thermoreversible Gelation of Polymers and Biopolymers, published in 1992 by the Academic Press, and Organogels: Thermodynamics, Structure, Solvent Role and Properties, published in 2016 by Springer, so it was quite natural for me to become an editor in a journal devoted to gels.

2. What is your vision for the Section?
A Section that will attract more physicists and physical chemists. Indeed, organogels are chiefly studied by chemists, so the deeper physical aspect is often discarded.

3. What does the future of this field of research look like, in your view?
In relation to my answer to question 2, deeper studying and investigation of the physical aspects of the phenomenon.

4. What do you think of the development of Open Access in the publishing field?
I have the feeling that it gradually catches up as traditional journals are now also playing in this field.

5. Who should contribute to this Section?
As suggested by my answers to questions 2 and 3, physicists and physical chemists. 

We wish Prof. Dr. Jean-Michel Guenet every success in his new position, and we look forward to his contributions to the journal.