Recent Advances in Microgels

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue on “Recent Advances in Microgels” is dedicated to the latest developments in microgels, including their synthesis, characterization, and applications.

The quest for new and improved materials over the past several decades has produced new functional materials that are able to respond to external stimuli. This response can be translated into significant physical or chemical changes in the intrinsic structure of the material. Polymeric microgels take advantage of their intermediary state between branched polymers and macroscopic networks. These structures have molecular weights similar to those of linear polymers, but their intrinsically linked structure enables a special behavior upon contact with appropriate solvents: microgels can swell without dissolving, forming stable colloidal dispersions. Ever since the discovery by Pelton and Chibante in 1986 of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) thermoresponsive microgels, these structures have gained tremendous attention in different research areas, particularly in biomedical applications. These thermoresponsive microgels shrink as the temperature increases because of their intrinsically lower critical solution temperature, making them materials of choice for advanced drug delivery systems.

We welcome the submission of both theoretical and experimental studies in the design, engineering, and application of microgels, with particular interest in the composition of innovative microgels. The most relevant fields of application will also be covered in this Special Issue to establish the most recent trends in the development of microgels.

Dr. Paula Isabel Soares
Guest Editor

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-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 2600 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.