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Polymers
Special Issues
Advances in Biomimetic Smart Hydrogels
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Advances in Biomimetic Smart Hydrogels

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Smart and Functional Polymers".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 March 2025 | Viewed by 6223

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Xiangyu Liang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen, China
Interests: bioinspired materials; biomaterials; soft materials; bioinspired structures; tissue engineering; fatigue resistance; soft-matter mechanics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Biomimetic smart hydrogels are functional polymer materials that exhibit characteristics that are bio-inspired by living organisms, such as responses, the recognition of, and adaptations to external stimuli. They have broad applications in the fields of biomedical engineering, flexible electronic devices, soft robotics, as well as environmentally friendly and clean energy devices. The specific roles played by different types of smart hydrogels vary depending on the application scenario. Despite being in the exploratory stage, only a limited number of commercialized smart hydrogel products have entered the market thus far. Consequently, significant efforts have been devoted to exploring diverse strategies aimed at meeting the stringent requirements and standards of practical applications.

The objective of this Special Issue of Polymers, titled “Advances in Biomimetic Smart Hydrogels”, is to compile articles that cover a wide range of interesting, yet advanced topics, including biomimetic design and fabrication, the characterization of physicochemical properties, biomimetic theoretical mechanisms, and the expansion of applications in innovative, yet challenging scenarios, etc.

The list of keywords below is not exhaustive, but it may help in preparing your submission. Please do not hesitate to go beyond it or to submit a paper whose topic is not explicitly mentioned in this list.

Prof. Dr. Xiangyu Liang
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

  • tough hydrogels
  • 3D/4D printing
  • tissue engineering
  • structural mechanics
  • responsive materials
  • self-recovery materials
  • medical devices
  • artificial intelligence
  • drug delivery
  • sustainable materials

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 3434 KiB  
Article
Electropolymerization of s-Triazines and Their Charge Storage Performance in Aqueous Acidic Electrolytes
by Shaotong Pei, Bo Lan, Xueting Bai, Yunpeng Liu, Xinyang Li and Chao Wang
Polymers 2024, 16(23), 3266; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16233266 - 24 Nov 2024
Viewed by 546
Abstract
Designing novel π-conjugated conductive polymers with abundant redox-active groups is a viable route to achieve high charge storage performance for aqueous energy storage devices. Electropolymerization is a powerful tool to construct conductive polymers. Here, s-triazine is, for the first time, electropolymerized in an [...] Read more.
Designing novel π-conjugated conductive polymers with abundant redox-active groups is a viable route to achieve high charge storage performance for aqueous energy storage devices. Electropolymerization is a powerful tool to construct conductive polymers. Here, s-triazine is, for the first time, electropolymerized in an aqueous acidic solution on carbon cloth. The polytriazine-coated carbon cloth electrode (PT/CC) exhibits a granular structure, with abundant pores. The charge storage performance is investigated, and a specific capacity of 101.4 mAh g−1 at 1 A g−1 in 1 M H2SO4 is achieved. Additionally, in 1 M ZnSO4, a specific capacity of 50.3 mAh g−1 at 1 A g−1 can be achieved by the PT/CC. The PT/CC behaves as a battery-type charge storage electrode, and the amino/imino and carbonyl/hydroxyl groups contribute to the charge storage, with cation insertion and extraction. A symmetric aqueous charge storage device assembled with two PT/CC electrodes exhibits an energy density of 12.92 Wh kg−1 and a power density of 250 W kg−1 at 1 A g−1. After 2500 cycles at 10 A g−1, the device retains a specific capacity of 83.3%. This study indicates that the PT is a potential candidate material for an aqueous energy storage device. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Biomimetic Smart Hydrogels)
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13 pages, 5736 KiB  
Article
Novel Approach for Cardioprotection: In Situ Targeting of Metformin via Conductive Hydrogel System
by Ying Tan, Jierong Li, Yali Nie and Zhi Zheng
Polymers 2024, 16(15), 2226; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16152226 - 5 Aug 2024
Viewed by 1245
Abstract
Ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury following myocardial infarction is a major cause of cardiomyocyte death and impaired cardiac function. Although clinical data show that metformin is effective in repairing cardiac I/R injury, its efficacy is hindered by non-specific targeting during administration, a short half-life, frequent [...] Read more.
Ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury following myocardial infarction is a major cause of cardiomyocyte death and impaired cardiac function. Although clinical data show that metformin is effective in repairing cardiac I/R injury, its efficacy is hindered by non-specific targeting during administration, a short half-life, frequent dosing, and potential adverse effects on the liver and kidneys. In recent years, injectable hydrogels have shown substantial potential in overcoming drug delivery challenges and treating myocardial infarction. To this end, we developed a natural polymer hydrogel system comprising methacryloylated chitosan and methacryloylated gelatin modified with polyaniline conductive derivatives. In vitro studies demonstrated that the optimized hydrogel exhibited excellent injectability, biocompatibility, biodegradability, suitable mechanical properties, and electrical conductivity. Incorporating metformin into this hydrogel significantly extended the administration cycle, mitigated mitochondrial damage, decreased abnormal ROS production, and enhanced cardiomyocyte function. Animal experiments indicated that the metformin/hydrogel system reduced arrhythmia incidence, infarct size, and improved cardiac mitochondrial and overall cardiac function, promoting myocardial repair in I/R injury. Overall, the metformin-loaded conductive hydrogel system effectively mitigates mitochondrial oxidative damage and improves cardiomyocyte function, thereby offering a theoretical foundation for the potential application of metformin in cardioprotection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Biomimetic Smart Hydrogels)
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Graphical abstract

13 pages, 10014 KiB  
Article
Study on the Design and Mechanical Properties of a Novel Hexagonal Cell Body Topology
by Enze Hao, Xindan Zhang, Xueqing Zhao and Hui Zhang
Polymers 2024, 16(15), 2201; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16152201 - 2 Aug 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1189
Abstract
The honeycomb structure is a topological structure with excellent performance that stems from the properties of the basic units of the structure. Different structural features of basic units may lead to different mechanical characteristics in the whole part. In this study, a novel [...] Read more.
The honeycomb structure is a topological structure with excellent performance that stems from the properties of the basic units of the structure. Different structural features of basic units may lead to different mechanical characteristics in the whole part. In this study, a novel hexagonal cell body topology structure (NH) was designed and manufactured by the fused deposition modeling (FDM) technique to explore the effects on mechanical properties. The tensile and impact performance of the NH structure were compared with the regular hexagonal honeycomb structure (HH), and the influence of different unit single-cell sizes on the impact performance of the NH structure was investigated. The force transmission of the basic units of the NH structure was revealed through finite element analysis. The results indicate that both the tensile and impact performances of the NH structure have been improved compared to the HH structure. The improvement is due to the better force transmission capability of the basic units of the NH structure, leading to a more uniform stress distribution. Moreover, excessively large or small single-cell sizes of the NH structure will reduce the overall structure’s impact resistance. The overall structure achieves optimal impact resistance when the single-cell size is around 1.2 mm. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Biomimetic Smart Hydrogels)
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Review

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18 pages, 1597 KiB  
Review
Source, Extraction, Properties, and Multifunctional Applications of Pectin: A Short Review
by Le Yi, Lifeng Cheng, Qi Yang, Ke Shi, Fengbo Han, Wei Luo and Shengwen Duan
Polymers 2024, 16(20), 2883; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16202883 - 12 Oct 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2473
Abstract
Pectin, a heteropolysaccharide derived from plant cell walls, is essential in the food, pharmaceutical, and environmental industries. Currently, citrus and apple peels are the primary sources for commercial pectin production. The yield and quality of pectin extracted from various plant sources significantly differ [...] Read more.
Pectin, a heteropolysaccharide derived from plant cell walls, is essential in the food, pharmaceutical, and environmental industries. Currently, citrus and apple peels are the primary sources for commercial pectin production. The yield and quality of pectin extracted from various plant sources significantly differ based on the extraction methods employed, which include physical, chemical, and biological processes. The complex structures of pectin, composed of polygalacturonic acid and rhamnogalacturonan, influence its physicochemical properties and, consequently, its functionality. As a common polysaccharide, pectin finds applications across multiple sectors. In the food industry, it acts as a gelling agent and a packaging material; in pharmaceuticals, it is utilized for drug delivery and wound healing. Environmentally, pectin contributes to wastewater treatment by adsorbing pollutants. Current research focuses on alternative sources, sustainable extraction methods, and multifunctional applications of pectin. Ongoing studies aim to enhance extraction technologies and broaden the applications of pectin, thereby supporting sustainable development goals. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Biomimetic Smart Hydrogels)
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