Hydrogels in Action: Self-Assembly, Responsivity and Sensing (2nd Edition)

Dear Colleagues,

Even structurally and functionally relatively simple hydrogels and hydrogel particle systems are scientifically fascinating materials, and are of key importance in numerous applications, including drug delivery, tissue engineering, advanced oil recovery, and chromatography.

This Special Issue on “Hydrogels in Action: Self-Assembly, Responsivity and Sensing (2nd Edition)” is dedicated to recent developments in the field of hydrogels, where interesting dynamical "active" aspects of hydrogel synthesis and behavior are studied and explored. The use of phase separation processes and molecular self-assembly in the synthesis of advanced hydrogel materials exploits the complex dynamics of these mechanisms to create hydrogels with complex morphologies, tunable by their processing conditions and molecular building blocks. Such methods of controlling hydrogel morphology can become even more powerful when combined with droplet-based microfluidic systems, which enable precise, repeatable processing conditions during the formation of each individual hydrogel particle.

Even “simple”, homogeneously structured hydrogel particle systems can exhibit a rich behavior in terms of their response to external stimuli. In response to changes in pH, temperature, light, ionic concentration, or the concentration of other solutes, such as polymers dissolved in the background liquid, these systems exhibit a complex and often surprising swelling and de-swelling behavior. Hydrogels and hydrogel particles with more complex, hierarchical morphologies enabled by phase separation or self-assembly can be created with targeted, improved responsivity, which can be used in sensing applications.

We welcome the submission of studies covering different aspects of this general theme, featuring experiments and/or theories.

Dr. Hans Wyss
Guest Editor

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