Hydrogels: Properties and Application in Biomedicine

A special issue of Gels (ISSN 2310-2861). This special issue belongs to the section "Gel Processing and Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 July 2026

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Institute of Electronics, Computer and Telecommunication Engineering (IEIIT) - National Research Council of Italy (CNR), 16163 Genoa, Italy
Interests: biomaterials; nanotechnology; tissue regeneration; EMF for health; cell–material interactions; stimuli-responsive materials; computational material science; hydrogel
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Guest Editor
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Univeristà di Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy
Interests: applied physics; medical physics; dosimetry; material sciences
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Hydrogels represent a rapidly evolving class of biomaterials that combine structural versatility with high biocompatibility. Their ability to absorb and retain large amounts of water, mimic the extracellular matrix, and be functionalized with biological or synthetic cues makes them highly attractive for applications in tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, wound healing, drug delivery, and biosensing. The past decade has witnessed remarkable progress in the development of smart hydrogels, including injectable and stimuli-responsive systems, which can interact dynamically with biological environments or be activated by external triggers.

This Special Issue aims to gather cutting-edge research and comprehensive reviews that address both fundamental aspects and translational potential of hydrogels in biomedicine. By bringing together experimental, theoretical, and computational perspectives, we intend to foster interdisciplinary dialogue and highlight innovative strategies for clinical translation.

In this Special Issue, we welcome original research articles and reviews that cover, but are not limited to, the following topics:

  • Design and synthesis of novel hydrogels for tissue engineering applications;
  • Smart hydrogels for controlled drug delivery in regenerative medicine;
  • Stimuli-responsive hydrogels activated by ultrasound, electromagnetic fields, or other external factors;
  • Hydrogels in 3D bioprinting and scaffold development;
  • Injectable hydrogels for regenerative therapies;
  • Mechanistic studies of hydrogel degradation and bio-resorption;
  • Application of hydrogels in wound healing and skin regeneration;
  • Hydrogel-based microenvironments for stem cell differentiation and tissue regeneration;
  • Computational modelling and simulation of hydrogel behaviour in biological environments.

Dr. Martina Lenzuni
Dr. Salvatore Gallo
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

  • hydrogels
  • biomedical applications
  • stimuli-responsive materials
  • tissue engineering
  • computational modelling

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Published Papers

This special issue is now open for submission.
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