Advances in Multi-Material Hydrogel for 3D Bioprinting
A special issue of Gels (ISSN 2310-2861). This special issue belongs to the section "Gel Chemistry and Physics".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 January 2026 | Viewed by 119
Special Issue Editors
Interests: bioinks; 3D bioprinting; hydrogels; biomaterials; rheology; tissue engineering; biofabrication
Interests: supramolecular chemistry; polymer chemistry; gels
Interests: organic synthesis; biopolymers; biomaterials; hydrogels; drug delivery; tissue engineering; bioink; 3D bioprinting
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Three-dimensional bioprinting has revolutionized the field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, enabling the fabrication of complex, cell-laden structures. A key challenge in advancing this field is the development of biomaterials—commonly known as bioinks—that balance optimal mechanical properties, bioactivity, and printability. Most bioinks are hydrogel-based, providing a hydrated, biocompatible environment for encapsulated cells while maintaining high levels of processability for extrusion-based printing. However, single-component hydrogels are often limited by their mechanical stability, structural fidelity, and biological functionality.
To address these challenges, multi-hydrogel systems—where different hydrogel components are combined—offer enhanced tunability, allowing the precise control of rheological behavior, crosslinking dynamics, and degradation kinetics. These hybrid hydrogel-based bioinks enhance the viability, structural integrity, and functional performance of cells, enabling them to be utilized in the engineering of complex tissues and organoids.
This Special Issue focuses on recent advances in multi-hydrogel formulations for 3D bioprinting, including novel bioink compositions, hybrid hydrogels, interpenetrating networks, and dynamic hydrogels with tunable stress relaxation properties. Studies that address mechanical characterization, biocompatibility, crosslinking strategies, and multi-material bioprinting approaches are encouraged. We also welcome contributions that investigate cell–biomaterial interactions, tissue regeneration applications, and the computational modelling of multi-hydrogel bioprinting.
We invite researchers working in the fields of biomaterials, bioengineering, and tissue fabrication to submit original research, reviews, and perspectives on this emerging topic.
Dr. Hatai Jongprasitkul
Prof. Dr. David A. Fulton
Dr. Vijay Singh Parihar
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. 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
- 3D bioprinting
- bioinks
- multi-hydrogel system
- hybrid hydrogels
- self-healing hydrogels
- dynamic hydrogels
- photocrosslinking
- rheology
- tissue engineering
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