Hydrogels for Food Safety and Sensing Applications
A special issue of Gels (ISSN 2310-2861). This special issue belongs to the section "Gel Applications".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2026 | Viewed by 28
Special Issue Editors
Interests: hydrogels; nanomaterials; food safety; electrochemical analysis; sensor
Interests: controlled polymer synthesis; polymer characterization; smart polymers; hydrogels; actuators and sensors
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Owing to their fast analysis speed, high sensitivity and low cost, sensors are widely used for detecting hazards in food, which can better ensure food safety. Hydrogels, with their unique three-dimensional polymeric networks, tunable physicochemical properties, and stimuli-responsive behavior (e.g., to pH, temperature, enzymes, and contaminants), have emerged as promising materials for enhancing food safety and sensor technologies. This Special Issue will highlight cutting-edge research on hydrogel-based systems for the detection of food hazards (e.g., pathogens, pesticides, and heavy metals), intelligent packaging for real-time freshness monitoring, and controlled release of antimicrobial/antioxidant agents to extend shelf life. It will also explore advanced hydrogel sensors for tracking food quality indicators (e.g., gases, pH, and temperature) via optical, electrochemical, or mechanical transduction. Emphasis will be placed on material design (e.g., nanocomposite, biohybrid, or stimuli-responsive hydrogels), scalability, and compliance with food-contact regulations. This Special Issue aims to gather interdisciplinary research achievements, promote the industrial application of hydrogel technology in the field of food safety, and simultaneously look forward, addressing future challenges and development directions in intelligent monitoring systems.
Dr. Yufeng Sun
Prof. Dr. Dirk Kuckling
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.
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Keywords
- novel hydrogels
- sensors
- detection
- food safety
- smart packaging
- stimuli-responsive materials
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