Advances in Polymer Gels: Properties, Design, and Applications
A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Networks and Gels".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2026 | Viewed by 16
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Polymer gels encompass complementary classes of soft materials derived from both synthetic polymers and biopolymers, each offering distinct advantages. Synthetic polymer gels are obtained from man-made polymers and are valued for their tunable chemical designs, scalability, and ease of processing. They can be engineered to exhibit advanced functions such as self-assembly, responsiveness to environmental stimuli, and molecular recognition. Biopolymer gels, in contrast, are inspired by or directly derived from natural biological systems. By mimicking the structures and functions of natural materials, they provide superior biocompatibility, inherent bioactivity, and molecular specificity, making them particularly attractive for biomedical and therapeutic applications.
With their broad potential, polymer and biopolymer gels stand at the forefront of innovation across diverse fields, including medicine, biomedical engineering, and materials science. Their ability to bridge fundamental science with real-world applications has established them as a rapidly expanding research domain.
This Special Issue, entitled “Advances in Polymer Gels: Properties, Design, and Applications”, aims to showcase the most recent progress in this area. We welcome original research articles, comprehensive reviews, and short communications exploring new concepts, experimental approaches, and application-oriented studies on polymer and biopolymer gels. Contributions emphasizing advances in synthesis, structural design, functional properties, and innovative applications are especially encouraged.
Dr. Hakan Erdogan
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 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. 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.
Keywords
- polymer gels
- biopolymer gels
- bioinspired polymer gels
- structure–property relationships
- synthesis and characterization methods
- biocompatible gels
- biodegradable gels
- smart polymer gels
- molecular design of gels
- stimuli-responsive gels
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