State-of-the Art Gel Research in USA

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 2397

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Biomimetic Materials and Tissue Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA
Interests: bioinspired gels; gels for stem cell delivery; self-assembled micelles for growth factor immobilization; models gels to control cell microenvironment; composite materials with structure at multiple length scales; skeletal tissue engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Interests: advanced bioadhesives/sealants for wound closure and surgical applications; novel elastin-based biomaterials for soft tissue engineering; conductive biomaterials for cardiac tissue engineering; multifunctional nanocomposite hydrogels for drug/gene delivery; 3D bioprinted tissue engineered constructs
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleague,

Gels are composed of a three-dimensional macromolecular solid phase that retains a large fraction of a liquid phase without dissolving. Due to their solid-like (elasticity) as well as liquid-like (permeability and flexibility) properties, gels are used extensively in many products and industries. Gels can be natural or biological like gelatin and synthetic like polyacrylamide gel, which is widely used in electrophoresis. The macromolecules in the gel network can be physically linked via hydrogen bonding, electrostatic interaction, or crystallization like polyvinyl alcohol gel or chemically linked via covalent bonding like polyethylene glycol gels. A gel may be a colloid, a water-based hydrogel, an organic solvent-based organogel, a highly porous solid xerogel, or a composite network of chains in a liquid phase. Gels can be used as a viscous injectable, in situ gelling, thin sheet, scaffold, micro- or nanoparticle in a variety of applications. This Special Issue invites manuscripts from scientists and researchers from the USA on the recent advances in all aspects of gels from synthesis and chemistry to physiochemical, biochemical, and biological properties, processing, and all their applications. Applications include food, medical, pharmaceutical, health care, cosmetic, and agricultural products as well as applications in the energy and chemical industries.

Prof. Dr. Esmaiel Jabbari
Dr. Nasim Annabi
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 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

  • gels
  • chemistry
  • physics
  • characterization
  • processing
  • applications

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 1694 KiB  
Article
Development and Characterization of Cannabidiol Gummy Using 3D Printing
by Arvind Bagde, Mina Messiha and Mandip Singh
Gels 2025, 11(3), 189; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels11030189 - 8 Mar 2025
Viewed by 628
Abstract
Oropharyngeal dysphagia and pain are prevalent concerns in the geriatric population. Therefore, this study investigates advances in the development of cannabidiol (CBD) gummies using 3D printing technology and compares them to commercially available molded gummies for pain management. A gelatin-based CBD formulation was [...] Read more.
Oropharyngeal dysphagia and pain are prevalent concerns in the geriatric population. Therefore, this study investigates advances in the development of cannabidiol (CBD) gummies using 3D printing technology and compares them to commercially available molded gummies for pain management. A gelatin-based CBD formulation was prepared and printed using a syringe-based extrusion 3D printer. The formulation’s rheological properties were assessed, and the printed gummies were characterized using a texture analyzer. Drug content was analyzed using HPLC, and in vitro dissolution studies were conducted in phosphate buffer (pH 1.2 and 6.8). Our results demonstrated that the gelatin-based formulation had shear-thinning rheological properties for 3D printing at a temperature of 38.00 °C, filament diameter of 26 mm and flow of 110%. The optimized printing parameters produced gummies with higher elasticity compared to marketed gummies and comparable toughness. Drug content analysis showed 98.14 ± 1.56 and 97.97 ± 2.14% of CBD in 3D-printed and marketed gummies, respectively. Dissolution studies revealed that both gummy types released 100% of the drug within 30 min in both pH 1.2 and 6.8 buffers. Overall, 3D printing enables customizable CBD gummies with optimized release and offer a personalized and patient-friendly alternative to traditional oral forms for geriatric care. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue State-of-the Art Gel Research in USA)
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26 pages, 5365 KiB  
Article
Characterization and Machine Learning-Driven Property Prediction of a Novel Hybrid Hydrogel Bioink Considering Extrusion-Based 3D Bioprinting
by Rokeya Sarah, Kory Schimmelpfennig, Riley Rohauer, Christopher L. Lewis, Shah M. Limon and Ahasan Habib
Gels 2025, 11(1), 45; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels11010045 - 7 Jan 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1369
Abstract
The field of tissue engineering has made significant advancements with extrusion-based bioprinting, which uses shear forces to create intricate tissue structures. However, the success of this method heavily relies on the rheological properties of bioinks. Most bioinks use shear-thinning. While a few component-based [...] Read more.
The field of tissue engineering has made significant advancements with extrusion-based bioprinting, which uses shear forces to create intricate tissue structures. However, the success of this method heavily relies on the rheological properties of bioinks. Most bioinks use shear-thinning. While a few component-based efforts have been reported to predict the viscosity of bioinks, the impact of shear rate has been vastly ignored. To address this gap, our research presents predictive models using machine learning (ML) algorithms, including polynomial fit (PF), decision tree (DT), and random forest (RF), to estimate bioink viscosity based on component weights and shear rate. We utilized novel bioinks composed of varying percentages of alginate (2–5.25%), gelatin (2–5.25%), and TEMPO-Nano fibrillated cellulose (0.5–1%) at shear rates from 0.1 to 100 s−1. Our study analyzed 169 rheological measurements using 80% training and 20% validation data. The results, based on the coefficient of determination (R2) and mean absolute error (MAE), showed that the RF algorithm-based model performed best: [(R2, MAE) RF = (0.99, 0.09), (R2, MAE) PF = (0.95, 0.28), (R2, MAE) DT = (0.98, 0.13)]. These predictive models serve as valuable tools for bioink formulation optimization, allowing researchers to determine effective viscosities without extensive experimental trials to accelerate tissue engineering. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue State-of-the Art Gel Research in USA)
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