Functionalization and Medical Application of Polymer Materials: 2nd Edition

Dear Colleagues,

Following the success of the Special Issue “Functionalization and Medical Application of Polymer Materials”, a second edition of this Special Issue is being organized. The functionalization of polymers consists of attaching functional groups to their monomeric units. The modified macromolecule bears several functional groups that work in conjunction. The functionalities, linked to the same molecule, amplify their activities through enhanced cooperativity. Polymers are easy to functionalize with a large variety of chemical groups via the utilization of organic chemistry reactions. We can functionalize the preformed polymeric chain or the monomers whose polymerization constitutes the second step of the synthesis. Different requirements induce different functionalizations. Enhancing water solubility, altering the conformation in solution, facilitating the coordination capability toward ionic or neutral molecules, and inducing optical properties such as light absorption or fluorescence can serve the polymer applications. We can utilize functionalized polymers in different medical fields, e.g., drug delivery, tissue engineering, theranostic medicine, and bioimaging. Polymer functionalization for medical applications is a research field that mainly involves organic chemists interested in the synthesis of novel biomaterials for challenging targets.

Dr. Carmine Coluccini
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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. Polymers 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.