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Gels
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Advanced Hydrogels for Tissue Engineering and Drug Delivery (3rd Edition)
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Advanced Hydrogels for Tissue Engineering and Drug Delivery (3rd Edition)

A Special Issue of Gels (ISSN 2310-2861) belonging to the section "Gel Analysis and Characterization".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 January 2027 | Viewed by 655

Editor

Dr. Jin-Oh Jeong

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Medicine, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC 27109, USA
Interests: biomaterials; tissue engineering; biomaterial engineering; biocompatibility; biodegradable polymers; biopolymers; stem cell differentiation; biomechanical engineering; material characterization; bone regeneration

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

A hydrogel is a three-dimensional network structure with a polymer chain bonded through covalent and/or secondary bonds, which enables strong hydrogen bonding with water molecules. Hydrogels can contain drugs, cells, and large volumes of water which, when in contact with water, show substantial swelling. Hydrogels can also be degraded via tissue engineering using the crosslinking method.

This Special Issue, titled “Advanced Hydrogels for Tissue Engineering and Drug Delivery”, covers the theory of biopolymer use for hydrogel fabrication, provides an introduction to various methods used for hydrogel fabrication, discusses drug loading/release effects, and introduces recent developments in tissue engineering applications. Research on tissue engineering and the drug delivery of hydrogels has attracted considerable interest in recent decades. Recently, research on controlling drug release and tissue engineering applications through various methods, such as electrical/physical stimulation, biofunctional modification for targeting/sustained release, and cell encapsulation, has been conducted. This Special Issue welcomes contributions based on the application of the methodology and fabrication of different types of hydrogels for effective drug delivery and tissue engineering.

Dr. Jin-Oh Jeong
Guest Editor

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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Gels 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 2100 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

  • biomaterials
  • hydrogel
  • tissue engineering
  • smart drug delivery
  • biopolymers

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Related Special Issues

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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21 pages, 15593 KB  
Article
Post-Synthetic Surface Quaternization of Agarose Cryogels: Optimizing Structural Integrity and Broad-Spectrum Growth Inhibition
by Ahmet Erdem, Elif Beyza Eren, Farouk Segujja, Elif Kale Bakir, Yonca Yuzugullu Karakus, Suheda Ercek and Tugba Dispinar Gezer
Gels 2026, 12(9), 792; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels12090792 - 1 Sep 2026
Viewed by 224
Abstract
Agarose is a promising biopolymer for wound healing due to its biocompatibility and ability to form stable macroporous cryogels. However, its bioinert nature limits its antibacterial functionality, while conventional chemical modification can disrupt its macroporous architecture and mechanical integrity. Here, we present a [...] Read more.
Agarose is a promising biopolymer for wound healing due to its biocompatibility and ability to form stable macroporous cryogels. However, its bioinert nature limits its antibacterial functionality, while conventional chemical modification can disrupt its macroporous architecture and mechanical integrity. Here, we present a versatile post-synthetic heterogeneous surface quaternization strategy to transform prefabricated agarose cryogels into surface-modified agarose cryogels (SMACs) with contact-active antibacterial functionality while preserving their interconnected supermacroporous architecture. Using 3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyltrimethylammonium chloride (CHPTAC) in an alkaline environment, quaternary ammonium moieties were covalently immobilized onto the agarose surface. A multivariable optimization approach examining reaction time, temperature, and scaffold concentration yielded surface quaternization values (DSEA) of 0.05 and 0.11 for SMAC-4 and SMAC-24, respectively, with successful modification confirmed via SEM-EDX and FT-IR analyses. Quaternization altered the physicochemical and mechanical properties of the scaffolds; notably, the average porosity increased from 66.7% in AC-0 to 78.7% in SMAC-24 while maintaining the integrity of the porous structure. Biological evaluation against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus identified SMAC-24 as the most favorable formulation, exhibiting the strongest antibacterial activity and maintaining 88.1 ± 1.6% human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) viability after 24 h of exposure to scaffold extracts. These findings demonstrate that post-synthetic surface quaternization provides agarose cryogels with contact-active antibacterial functionality and favorable cytocompatibility, highlighting their potential as non-leaching antibacterial agarose scaffolds for chronic wound care. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Hydrogels for Tissue Engineering and Drug Delivery (3rd Edition))
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Review

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38 pages, 34588 KB  
Review
Engineering Hydrogels for Intrauterine Adhesion Therapy and Endometrial Regeneration
by Hanlin Li, Jiacheng Wang, Yan Zhong, Weiai Liu, Boheng Zheng, Yingzhe Liu, Shicong Niu, Weijun Li and Yu Liu
Gels 2026, 12(9), 811; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels12090811 - 4 Sep 2026
Viewed by 162
Abstract
Intrauterine adhesion (IUA) is a fibrotic disorder resulting from aberrant repair following injury to the endometrial basal layer, leading to menstrual abnormalities, infertility, recurrent miscarriage, and pregnancy complications. Although hysteroscopic adhesiolysis remains the primary clinical treatment, the rate of postoperative re–adhesion is still [...] Read more.
Intrauterine adhesion (IUA) is a fibrotic disorder resulting from aberrant repair following injury to the endometrial basal layer, leading to menstrual abnormalities, infertility, recurrent miscarriage, and pregnancy complications. Although hysteroscopic adhesiolysis remains the primary clinical treatment, the rate of postoperative re–adhesion is still high, especially in patients with moderate–to–severe IUA. Moreover, mechanical separation alone is often insufficient to restore intact endometrial architecture and reproductive function. Hydrogels, with their hydrated three–dimensional networks, extracellular matrix (ECM)–mimicking properties, injectability, biodegradability, tissue adhesion, and tunable delivery capacity, have evolved from passive barrier materials into multifunctional therapeutic platforms capable of regulating the pathological microenvironment and promoting tissue regeneration. Recent advances in responsive, self–healing, adhesive, antioxidant, and bioactive cargo–loaded hydrogels have expanded their applications from preventing adhesion formation toward functional endometrial reconstruction. In this review, we summarize recent progress in hydrogel–based IUA therapy, focusing on material composition, structural design, functional modification, therapeutic mechanisms, and translational considerations. Particular emphasis is placed on disease–informed hydrogel engineering strategies that integrate the unique anatomical characteristics of the uterine cavity, injury–associated microenvironment, and dynamic stages of endometrial repair. This perspective provides insights into the development of next–generation hydrogel systems for preventing re–adhesion and restoring reproductive function. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Hydrogels for Tissue Engineering and Drug Delivery (3rd Edition))
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