Food Gels: Properties and Applications

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue, entitled “Food Gels: Properties and Applications”, is dedicated to recent developments in the field of food gels, from their theoretical aspects to their formation mechanisms, properties, and applications.

Food gels are soft, flexible macromolecular polymeric materials that retain large amounts of water or biofluids in their three-dimensional network structure. Owing to the structural and viscoelastic characteristics of these gels, they play essential roles in modern food design; for example, they are used to replace fats, increase shelf life, and guard flavor compounds, and in the creation of complex product shapes via three-dimensional (3D) printing. An increasing trend has been observed in the use of hydrogels as stimuli-responsive delivery systems because of their sustainable, low-cost, nontoxic, and biocompatible nature. Researchers endeavor to understand the mechanisms of gelling processes under different gelation conditions and using different gelling agents, such as polysaccharides or starch, to achieve gels with specific attributes. Although many aspects of the formation mechanisms, functions, and applications of gels have been clarified thus far, many phenomena remain unsolved. We look forward to receiving submissions of new results on the interconnection between gel networks, the preparation of gels, and the novel application of gels with high functional properties.

Prof. Dr. Honghai Hu
Prof. Dr. Jianhui Xiao
Dr. Lianliang Liu
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 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.