Synthesis, Characterization and Biomedical Applications of Hydrogels

Hydrogels—three-dimensional crosslinked networks of hydrophilic polymers—have become a popular choice for many biomedical applications due to their ability to hold large amounts of water or biological fluids, therapeutic agents, and other biomolecules. Furthermore, many of their properties (porosity, swellability, viscoelasticity, etc.) can be tuned for different applications by either altering their chemical composition and crosslinking, or by external stimuli such as pH and temperature. Hydrogels have thus been used as prime candidates for the development of biosensors, drug delivery platforms, extracellular matrix scaffolds for tissue engineering, and bioinks for 3D bioprinting. This Special Issue will highlight original articles and reviews that describe the synthesis and characterization of hydrogels for various biomedical applications, including the delivery of therapeutics, self-healing, scaffold design, biofabrication, and regenerative medicine. Submissions describing the development of multifunctional hydrogels and reinforced hydrogel composites are also highly encouraged, as are perspectives on future trends and challenges in this field.

Dr. Prashanth Asuri
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-anonymized 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.