Advances in Polymer Devices for Cell Transplantation

Dear Colleagues,

The human body does not always provide an adequate transplantation site for cells or tissues. In cases like this, polymer scaffolds can be used to develop an artificial transplantation site that contains an optimal microenvironment. For successful cell transplantation to take place, these polymer devices need to meet several requirements, for example, a high degree of functional blood vessels for oxygen and nutrient supply, the presence of extracellular matrix molecules to guarantee optimal functioning, and innervation to enable communication. However, protection against immune rejection should also be addressed when engineering such a polymer transplantation site.

In recent years, research has been focused towards modulating and improving the characteristics of polymer devices to meet these requirements. For example, by using different (polymer) materials or various engineering approaches (functionalization of polymers, geometry, etc.) This Special Issue is oriented towards all novel approaches and materials that aim to improve cell transplantation outcomes.

Considering your prominent contribution in this interesting research area, I would like to cordially invite you to submit an article to this Special Issue. This Special Issue will publish full research papers, communications, and review articles. Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere. All manuscripts are refereed through a peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for the submission of manuscripts are available on the journal’s website.

Dr. Alexandra M. Smink
Dr. Tom Kamperman
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 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.