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Gels
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Advanced Hydrogels for Biomedical Applications
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Advanced Hydrogels for Biomedical Applications

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 July 2025 | Viewed by 1566

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Wanjun Liu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Textiles, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China
Interests: biomaterials; islet encapsulation; bioprinting; hydrogels; nanofibers; textiles
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Hydrogels for biomedical applications are a rapidly evolving field within biomaterials science, involving expertise from materials science, chemistry, biology, and medicine. Hydrogels are three-dimensional (3D) network structures formed by hydrophilic polymer chains that can swell in water without dissolving. They have gained significant attention for various biomedical applications due to their tunable properties, biocompatibility, and ability to mimic the extracellular matrix.

Researchers are continuously exploring new methods to enhance the properties and functionalities of hydrogels for biomedical applications. By incorporating advanced materials, such as nanoparticles, proteins, or peptides, into hydrogel matrices, novel functionalities and applications are being discovered.

This Special Issue will cover current research progress on developing advanced hydrogels for drug delivery, tissue engineering, wound healing, bioimaging, sensing and diagnostics, and other new applications.

Prof. Dr. Wanjun Liu
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 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
  • drug delivery
  • tissue engineering
  • bioimaging
  • sensing and diagnostics

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 3699 KiB  
Article
Dosimetric Evaluation of the Sensitivity of PAGAT Gel Dosimeters Infused with Clinically Used Gadolinium-Based Contrast Agents
by Melani Fuentealba, Carolina Vallejos, Sergio Díez and Mauricio Santibáñez
Gels 2025, 11(6), 416; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels11060416 (registering DOI) - 30 May 2025
Viewed by 31
Abstract
This study evaluates the impact of gadolinium-based contrast agents (Omniscan, Dotarem, and Gadovist) on the performance of PAGAT gel dosimeters using spectrophotometric analysis. Dosimeters were infused with gadolinium at concentrations ranging from 0 to 40 mg/mL and irradiated with a 6 MV photon [...] Read more.
This study evaluates the impact of gadolinium-based contrast agents (Omniscan, Dotarem, and Gadovist) on the performance of PAGAT gel dosimeters using spectrophotometric analysis. Dosimeters were infused with gadolinium at concentrations ranging from 0 to 40 mg/mL and irradiated with a 6 MV photon beam over a dose range of 0–15 Gy. Regarding dosimeter behavior, Dotarem exhibited an enhancement in optical density prior to irradiation due to polymerization reactions between the dosimeter and the contrast agent starting at 10 mg/mL, which compromised optical readings above 20 mg/mL. Omniscan consistently showed 37.7% lower sensitivity than standard PAGAT across all concentrations and dose levels. Conversely, Gadovist enhanced sensitivity by up to 50% at 20 mg/mL, with additional gains at higher concentrations, although accompanied by saturation at lower dose levels. Radiological analysis showed that all tested concentrations maintained mass energy–absorption coefficient differences below 1% and water-equivalence in effective atomic number within 5% at 6 MV. These findings underscore the importance of selecting an appropriate contrast agent to enhance gel dosimeter sensitivity, particularly in low-dose regions where measurement uncertainty increases. Additionally, gadolinium-infused PAGAT gels show strong potential for assessing dose enhancement phenomena. Their sensitivity, threshold behavior, and radiological properties suggest they may be suitable for applications in dose enhancement dosimetry as well as conventional clinical settings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Hydrogels for Biomedical Applications)
19 pages, 4948 KiB  
Article
Five-Cavity Resonance Inspired, rGO Nano-Sheet Reinforced, Multi-Site Voice Synergetic Detection Hydrogel Sensors with Diverse Self-Adhesion and Robust Wireless Transmissibility
by Yue Wu, Kewei Zhao, Jingliu Wang, Chunhui Li, Xubao Jiang, Yudong Wang and Xiangling Gu
Gels 2025, 11(4), 233; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels11040233 - 23 Mar 2025
Viewed by 383
Abstract
The practical application of flexible sensors in sound detection is significantly hindered by challenges such as information isolation, fragmentation, and low fidelity. To address these challenges, this work developed a composite hydrogel via a one-pot method, employing polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as the first [...] Read more.
The practical application of flexible sensors in sound detection is significantly hindered by challenges such as information isolation, fragmentation, and low fidelity. To address these challenges, this work developed a composite hydrogel via a one-pot method, employing polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as the first network, polyacrylic acid (PAA) as the second network, and two-dimensional nanomaterials—reduced graphene oxide (rGO)—generated through the redox reaction of polydopamine (PDA) and graphene oxide (GO) as conductive fillers. The uniformly distributed rGO within the hydrogel forms an efficient conductive network, endowing the material with high sensitivity (GF = 0.64), excellent conductivity (8.15 S m−1), rapid response time (350 ms), and outstanding stability. The synergistic interaction between PDA and PAA modulates the hydrogel’s adhesion (0.89 kPa), enabling conformal attachment to skin surfaces. The designed rGO@PVA-PAA hydrogel-based flexible sensor effectively monitors vibrations across diverse frequencies originating from five vocal cavities (head, nasal, oral, laryngeal, and thoracic cavities) during singing. Integrated with multi-position synchronization and Bluetooth wireless sensing technologies, the system achieves coordinated and efficient monitoring of multiple vocal cavities. Furthermore, the hydrogel sensor demonstrates versatility in detecting physiological signals, including electrocardiograms, subtle vibrations, and multi-scale body movements, highlighting its broad applicability in biomedical and motion-sensing applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Hydrogels for Biomedical Applications)
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18 pages, 12993 KiB  
Article
Composite Contrast Enhancement of Hydrogel-Based Implants for Photon-Counting Computed Tomography Studies
by Evgeniya V. Suslova, Denis A. Shashurin, Konstantin I. Maslakov, Stepan Yu. Kupreenko, Tatyana O. Luneva, Oleg S. Medvedev and Georgy A. Chelkov
Gels 2024, 10(12), 807; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels10120807 - 8 Dec 2024
Viewed by 828
Abstract
Hydrogels have a wide range of medical applications, including use within implantable systems. However, when used in implants, their visibility under conventional medical imaging techniques is limited, creating safety risks for patients. In the current work, we assessed the possibility of enhancing hydrogels [...] Read more.
Hydrogels have a wide range of medical applications, including use within implantable systems. However, when used in implants, their visibility under conventional medical imaging techniques is limited, creating safety risks for patients. In the current work, we assessed the possibility of enhancing hydrogels using Ln-based contrasting agents to facilitate their visualization in photon-counting computed tomography (PCCT). The contrast enhancement of gelatin, polyacrylamide (PAM), and silicone shells of implants was assessed. A novel synthetic route for producing cross-linked nanosized Ln2O3 with polyacrylamide was proposed and discussed in detail. Several prototypes of silicone implants, including silicone shell and gelatin or PAM filling with different combinations of contrasting agents, were produced and assessed in phantom PCCT studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Hydrogels for Biomedical Applications)
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