Synthesis and Applications of Hydrogels (3rd Edition)

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 December 2025 | Viewed by 473

Special Issue Editor

School of Mechanical Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan 250061, China
Interests: hydrogels; colloids and interfaces; 3D printing; surface forces
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Hydrogels have been used for producing contact lenses, flexible sensors and actuators, adhesives, wound dressings, and hygiene products and are critical to achieving the controlled release of bioactive molecules. The synthesis and application of hydrogels have received increased attention across a number of disciplines in the past twenty years. We have seen an increased number of publications in hydrogel research, and the scientific field is evolving rapidly. For example, three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting using cell-loaded hydrogel composites has been one of the emerging topics for realizing artificial organs in biomedical research. The key point of synthesizing a hydrogel is that the obtained gel should have reasonable mechanical and electrical properties and should form effective interfacial connections with various substrates. To overcome the drawbacks of weak mechanical properties and low interfacial toughness, double- or even triple-network hydrogels have been fabricated. Additionally, mechanical training, salt precipitation, and the application of electric or magnetic fields have also been applied to hydrogel synthesis toward achieving the desired properties. Challenges remain on the road to commercialization, although a number of hydrogel-related patents are filed each year.

This Special Issue aims to report the most recent research and advances in hydrogel synthesis and applications, such as sensors and actuators, adhesives, 3D printing, etc. Research on new methodologies, mechanism studies, and those on the modeling of hydrogels are also welcomed. 

Dr. Jun Huang
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • biomaterials
  • sensors and actuators
  • adhesives
  • flexible electronics
  • 3D printing
  • drug delivery
  • network

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

13 pages, 6621 KiB  
Article
Crystallization of Vanillin Isomers in Carboxymethyl Chitosan Gels
by Lin Zhang, Xiaoling Lu, Hao Li, Hongjie Chen, Qi Yin, Xuehan Hu, Kang Yang, Fang Yang, Liya Chen, Zeng Yang, You Long, Chao Shen, Bo Yao and Chenghong Huang
Gels 2025, 11(4), 285; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels11040285 - 11 Apr 2025
Viewed by 344
Abstract
The medicinal value of vanillin and its isomers has not been well developed, so it is necessary to prepare crystals of vanillin and its isomers as well as to investigate their crystallization rules in detail using advanced crystallization techniques in polymer gel. Based [...] Read more.
The medicinal value of vanillin and its isomers has not been well developed, so it is necessary to prepare crystals of vanillin and its isomers as well as to investigate their crystallization rules in detail using advanced crystallization techniques in polymer gel. Based on molecular simulation, the maximum number of hydrogen bonds between CMCS with Van, IsoVan and oVan were reached at molar ratios of 1:9 and 1:4 and 1:5, respectively. The gel hardness and apparent viscosity of CMCS/Van isomers were proportional to the mole ratio, while elongation at break and tensile strength decreased with an increase in molar concentration depending on the position of the side chain group of the Van isomer, exposure of the benzene ring, steric resistance and the number of hydrogen bonds formed. The crystallization of Van, IsoVan and oVan in CMCS gel unexceptionally follow classical supersaturation theory in the case that nVan mainly exhibits a unique growth pattern from needle to strip, IsoVan’s growth style changes from plate to bulk and oVan adapts growth pattern from needle to branch bifurcating. It was also found that the Van crystal changed from II-type to I-type under long-term heating. Studies have further confirmed that the discrepancy of physicochemical characteristics of CMCS/Van blend gel can be attributed to differences in the number of hydrogen bonds compared to CMCS with given group positions of Van isomers. This study provides powerful technical support for the gel crystallization of van isomers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Synthesis and Applications of Hydrogels (3rd Edition))
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