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Molecules
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Advances in Gel Materials: Synthesis, Characterization and Applications
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Advances in Gel Materials: Synthesis, Characterization and Applications

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Cross-Field Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2025) | Viewed by 1023

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Nina Danchova

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, J. Bourchier Blvd. 1, 1164 Sofia, Bulgaria
Interests: aerogels; thermal conductivity; sol-gel; optical materials; hybrid materials; composites
Prof. Dr. Stoyan Gutzov

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski, 1164 Sofia, Bulgaria
Interests: sol-gel; optical properties; luminescence; solid state
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue focuses on the development and exploration of advanced gel materials with tailored properties for a wide range of functional applications. Advanced gels include a variety of aerogels, xerogels, hydrogels, organic and inorganic gels, hybrid gel materials, and sol–gel composites, offering remarkable capabilities such as tuneable mechanical properties, thermal insulation, ionic conductivity, selective sorption, and many other valuable applications.

This Special Issue invites original research papers on the synthesis, characterization, and structure–property relationships of advanced gel materials with valuable applications across various fields.

Topics of interest include the preparation of functional gels with tailored properties and their applications in fields such as applied materials, optical and sensor technologies, ecology and environmental protection, biomedicine, as well as energy conservation and storage materials.

Papers about aerogels and electrochemical applications of gels are welcome.

Dr. Nina Danchova
Prof. Dr. Stoyan Gutzov
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. Molecules is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2700 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

  • advanced gels
  • aerogels
  • hybrid gels
  • composites
  • selective sorbents
  • energy storage
  • environmental protection
  • optical materials

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

17 pages, 2607 KiB  
Article
One-Pot Synthesis of Phenylboronic Acid-Based Microgels for Tunable Gate of Glucose-Responsive Insulin Release at Physiological pH
by Prashun G. Roy, Jiangtao Zhang, Koushik Bhattacharya, Probal Banerjee, Jing Shen and Shuiqin Zhou
Molecules 2025, 30(15), 3059; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30153059 - 22 Jul 2025
Viewed by 316
Abstract
Glucose-responsive insulin delivery systems that effectively regulate insulin retention and release in response to real-time fluctuation of glucose levels are highly desirable for diabetes care with minimized risk of hypoglycemia. Herein, we report a class of glucose-sensitive copolymer microgels, prepared from a simple [...] Read more.
Glucose-responsive insulin delivery systems that effectively regulate insulin retention and release in response to real-time fluctuation of glucose levels are highly desirable for diabetes care with minimized risk of hypoglycemia. Herein, we report a class of glucose-sensitive copolymer microgels, prepared from a simple one-pot precipitation copolymerization of 4-vinylphenylboronic acid (VPBA), 2-(dimethylamino) ethyl acrylate (DMAEA), and oligo(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (Mw = 300, MEO5MA), for gated glucose-responsive insulin release within the physiologically desirable glucose level range. The composition of the p(VPBA-DMAEA-MEO5MA) copolymer microgels were analyzed using NMR and FTIR spectra. The cis-diols of glucose can reversibly bind with the −B(OH)2 groups of the VPBA component in the microgels, resulting in the formation of negatively charged boronate esters that induce the volume phase transition of the microgels. The DMAEA component is incorporated to reduce the pKa of VPBA, thus improving the glucose sensitivity of the microgels at physiological pH. The neutral hydrophilic MEO5MA component is used to tune the onset of the glucose responsiveness of the microgels to the physiologically desirable levels. The more the MEO5MA component copolymerized in the microgels, the greater the glucose concentration required to initiate the swelling of the microgels to trigger the release of insulin. When the onset of the glucose response was tuned to 4−5 mM, the copolymer microgels retained insulin effectively in the hypo-/normo-glycemic range but also released insulin efficiently in response to the elevation of glucose levels in the hyperglycemic range, which is essential for diabetes management. The copolymer microgels display no cytotoxicity in vitro. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Gel Materials: Synthesis, Characterization and Applications)
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