Design of Hydrogels and Hydrogel-Derived Materials: Focus on Wastewater, Agriculture, and Biomedicine

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2026 | Viewed by 56

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Departamento de Polímeros, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción 4030000, Chile
Interests: complex polyelectrolytes; hydrogels; (nano)composites; biobased materials; agricultural applications; biopolymer modification; ultrafiltration processes; removal of emerging organic pollutants; functional polymers
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Departamento de Polímeros, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción 4030000, Chile
Interests: polymers; alginate; nanocomposites; controlled drug release; food technology

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biology and Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad San Sebastian, Concepción 4030000, Chile
Interests: applied nanotechnology; hybrid materials; nanocomposite hydrogels; biobased material
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The design and applications of hydrogels in different fields of application have increased considerably over the years. This is due to the great versatility, properties, and unique solutions that this type of materials provides. Currently, with the challenge of obtaining new, friendlier materials with applications to minimize the impacts caused by climate change. The design of hydrogels and hydrogel-derived materials has become a focus of studies to counteract the current sustainability needs of agriculture, water and biomedicine as part of the global economy and necessary resources on our planet.

Based on the success of the first edition, we are excited to launch a broader second edition of our Special Issue "Design of Hydrogels and Hydrogel-Derived Materials: Focus on Wastewater, Agriculture, and Biomedicine"

https://www.mdpi.com/journal/gels/special_issues/XOZ3307K1I

We seek contributions to advance the design of hydrogel-derived materials for agriculture, water sustainability and biomedical applications, such as hydrogels for the removal of emerging organic pollutants, organic contaminants such as antibiotics, endocrine disruptors, dyes, analgesics and pesticides, among others, and inorganic contaminants such as heavy metals and oxyanions in soil–water matrices. as well as hydrogel-based materials to combat soil droughts, controlled release of agrochemicals, phytohormones and general applications in agriculture. And finally, hydrogels and hydrogel-derived materials for biomedical applications such as drug releasers, wound-healing dressings, smart hydrogels for releasing molecules of biomedical interest and other general applications of hydrogels in biomedical applications. Also welcome are papers in the field of nanocomposite hydrogels, hybrid hydrogels, bio-derived hydrogels and other types of hydrogels for agricultural, water sustainability and biomedical applications.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Daniel A. Palacio
Dr. Víctor Campos-Requena
Dr. Manuel Francisco Melendrez Castro
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

  • superabsorbents
  • hydrogels
  • controlled-release hydrogels in agriculture
  • controlled-release hydrogels in biomedicine
  • hydrogels for contaminant removal
  • hybrid and nanocomposite hydrogels for contaminant degradation
  • hydrogel design and characterization
  • application of hydrogels for environmental sustainability, agriculture and biomedicine
  • nanocomposite hydrogels
  • hybrid hydrogels
  • bio-based hydrogels
  • hydrogels for wound healing
  • hydrogels as scaffolds for biomedicine
  • hydrogel-like materials in cell growth applications

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Published Papers

This special issue is now open for submission.
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