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Gels
Special Issues
Hydrogels: Properties and Applications in Medicine
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Hydrogels: Properties and Applications in Medicine

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 September 2026 | Viewed by 1016

Editors

Dr. Wanessa C.M.A. Melo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Functional Materials and Electronics, State Research Institute Centre for Physical Sciences and Technology (FTMC), 10257 Vilnius, Lithuania
Interests: biofilm infection; nanogel; photoactive gel
Dr. Arunas Stirke

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Functional Materials and Electronics, State Research Institute Centre for Physical Sciences and Technology (FTMC), 10257 Vilnius, Lithuania
Interests: electroporation; pulsed electric field generators; lab on a chip; gels
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Hydrogels are at the forefront of biomedical innovation, offering unique opportunities to bridge material science and medicine. Their remarkable water retention, biocompatibility, and tunable properties make them ideal platforms for applications such as targeted drug delivery, wound healing, diagnostics, and regenerative medicine. With the integration of nanotechnology, hydrogels have entered an exciting new phase: nanomaterial-enhanced hydrogels and photoactive nanogels now enable smarter, multifunctional systems with improved responsiveness, precision, and therapeutic outcomes. These advances open possibilities for controlled drug release, photothermal and photodynamic therapies, and next-generation tissue engineering strategies.

The Special Issue “Hydrogels: Properties and Applications in Medicine” invites authors to contribute original research articles, communications, and reviews that explore the design, synthesis, characterization, and biomedical applications of hydrogels and nanogels. Topics of interest include smart and stimuli-responsive hydrogels, nanocomposite hydrogels, photoactive nanogels, and their translation into clinical practice. This Special Issue aims to provide a dynamic platform for showcasing the latest developments and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration between chemists, materials scientists, engineers, and biomedical researchers.

We encourage you to share your latest findings and innovative perspectives to advance the growing field of hydrogel-based technologies and their transformative role in modern medicine.

Dr. Wanessa C.M.A. Melo
Dr. Arunas Stirke
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.

Keywords

  • nanoparticles
  • biofilm
  • microfluidics
  • photodynamic therapy
  • biomaterials

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 775 KB  
Article
Solubility, Release Behavior and Membrane Permeability of a Ibuprofen Hydrogel Co-Assembled with N-Methyl-D-Glucosamine
by Guoxun Li, Xinru Lu, Caijuan Hu, Jiaxuan Ji, Xiakang Xiong, YuJia Zhang, Zhenwei Ni, Jue Wang, Jiawei Han and Xiaoqian Liu
Gels 2026, 12(7), 577; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels12070577 (registering DOI) - 29 Jun 2026
Abstract
Small-molecule hydrogels have gradually become a research hotspot compared with polymeric hydrogels, but their practical advantages have not been fully realized in the development of pharmaceutical formulations. This study aimed to explore whether the N-methyl-D-glucosamine (GLU) could be introduced to form a ibuprofen [...] Read more.
Small-molecule hydrogels have gradually become a research hotspot compared with polymeric hydrogels, but their practical advantages have not been fully realized in the development of pharmaceutical formulations. This study aimed to explore whether the N-methyl-D-glucosamine (GLU) could be introduced to form a ibuprofen (IBU) hydrogel for overcoming its water solubility defect and optimizing its pharmaceutical properties. Such an IBU-GLU hydrogel was prepared by simply mixing IBU with GLU in small-volume deionized water. The formed IBU-GLU hydrogel was characterized by SEM, rheology, DSC, PXRD and FTIR analyses. In addition, the solubility, in vitro release and permeability were also investigated to evaluate the solubilization and permeability-promoting effects. The resulting IBU-GLU hydrogel exhibited a typical 3D structure with excellent viscoelasticity, which relied on the equilibrium of aggregation and dissolution, as well as a good miscibility between IBU and GLU, and self-assembly driven by intermolecular interactions in an aqueous environment. Compared to pure IBU, the IBU solubility of the IBU-GLU hydrogel was significantly improved by 38.4-fold. Furthermore, IBU-GLU hydrogel demonstrated superior release rates and supersaturation ability, which was attributed to its high-energy state and internal molecular complexation. Additionally, compared with the commercially available IBU hydrogel, the prepared IBU-GLU hydrogel significantly accelerated IBU membrane permeation. Thus, this study highlighted that the designed IBU-GLU hydrogel could serve as a feasible approach to enhance the release and permeability of IBU for its druggability optimization. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrogels: Properties and Applications in Medicine)
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18 pages, 6937 KB  
Article
Characterization and Structural Evaluation of Niobium-Integrated Chitosan–Gelatin Hybrid Hydrogels
by Muhammad Usman Khalid, Arunas Stirke, Martynas Talaikis, Vidas Pakstas, Tatjana Kavleiskaja, Alessandro Márcio Hakme da Silva and Wanessa De Melo
Gels 2026, 12(2), 107; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels12020107 - 27 Jan 2026
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 754
Abstract
Chitosan–gelatin (CG) hybrid hydrogels are widely recognized for their biocompatibility and suitability for soft tissue engineering, wound dressings, and biomedical coatings. Despite this promise, conventional CG systems often exhibit limited mechanical strength, restricted durability, and uncontrolled swelling, which can reduce their clinical relevance. [...] Read more.
Chitosan–gelatin (CG) hybrid hydrogels are widely recognized for their biocompatibility and suitability for soft tissue engineering, wound dressings, and biomedical coatings. Despite this promise, conventional CG systems often exhibit limited mechanical strength, restricted durability, and uncontrolled swelling, which can reduce their clinical relevance. In this study, we introduce an enhanced soft hydrogel platform reinforced with niobium pentoxide (Nb2O5) nanoparticles and chemically crosslinked using glutaraldehyde, with citric acid serving as a dissolution medium and processing aid. Three hydrogel variants (G1, G2 and G3) were prepared by adjusting nanoparticle concentration and subsequently evaluated through structural, morphological, swelling, gel-fraction, and rheological analyses. SEM imaging revealed that increasing Nb2O5 content produced notable architectural transitions—from smooth porous matrices to nanoparticle-distributed, heterogenous pore structures. XRD, FTIR, and Raman spectroscopy confirmed the structural retention of Nb2O5 and its effective interaction with the polymer network. Swelling and gel-fraction measurements demonstrated improved network stability in nanoparticle-loaded systems, with G2 providing the most desirable balance between swelling capacity (298%) and gel fraction (91%). Rheological studies further identified G2 as the most stable and elastic composition, exhibiting strong shear-thinning behavior and high structural recovery. Overall, G2 emerges as the optimal formulation for future biomedical development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrogels: Properties and Applications in Medicine)
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