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Stimuli-Responsive Composite Gels
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Stimuli-Responsive Composite Gels

A special issue of Gels (ISSN 2310-2861). This special issue belongs to the section "Gel Processing and Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 May 2024) | Viewed by 2458

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Tetsu Mitsumata

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Materials Science & Technology, Faculty of Engineering, Niigata University, Niigata 950-2181, Japan
Interests: stimuli-responsive soft materials; composite gel; magnetic responsive soft materials; biopolymers; polysaccharide
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue of “Stimuli-Responsive Composite Gels” focuses on recent advances in theoretical and fundamental aspects of the synthesis, characterization, material properties, and applications of a wide range of composite gels, including not only polymer gels containing inorganic substances, but also polymer–polymer composite gels with stimuli-responsive properties. The physicochemical properties of stimuli-responsive composite gels dramatically change in response to the external stimuli such as temperature, pH, solvent composition, physical fields, or electromagnetic waves, and they have attracted considerable attention in the past few decades. Recently, stimuli-responsive composite gels have been used in industrial products, demonstrating excellent responses to stimuli. This Special Issue welcomes submissions based on gel science and technology, from the fundamentals to applications close to practical products.

Dr. Tetsu Mitsumata
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. Gels is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2100 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

  • stimuli-responsive property
  • composite gels
  • composite rubbers
  • composite elastomers

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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10 pages, 4095 KiB  
Article
Development of a Self-Healing Gel with Self-Healing Kinetics That Can Be Controlled by Heat
by Rikuto Saito and Shingo Tamesue
Gels 2024, 10(6), 410; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels10060410 - 19 Jun 2024
Viewed by 583
Abstract
A self-healing gel with self-healing kinetics that can be regulated by heat is developed. The gel is composed of a polymer having benzophenone (BP) substituents, which are cross-linked with a main alkyl chain via ester bonds, titanium chloride, and zinc. This gel material [...] Read more.
A self-healing gel with self-healing kinetics that can be regulated by heat is developed. The gel is composed of a polymer having benzophenone (BP) substituents, which are cross-linked with a main alkyl chain via ester bonds, titanium chloride, and zinc. This gel material shows a self-healing property at room temperature. Also, its self-healing behavior can be accelerated by heating the gel. This gel having self-healing kinetics that can be regulated by heat is favorable for practical use. When we want to use a self-healing property as a stop-gap measure, a rapid self-healing property is demanded. On the other hand, when we want materials repaired beautifully or decomposed surfaces need to be attached beautifully, a slow self-healing property is favorable. These opposite demands can be answered by the gel with self-healing kinetics that can be regulated by heat. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Stimuli-Responsive Composite Gels)
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12 pages, 4463 KiB  
Article
Structural Analyses of Polysaccharides Extracted from Cyanobacterial Extracellular Gels and Oriented Liquid Crystalline Microfiber Processing by Poly(vinyl alcohol)-Assisted Electrospinning
by Chizu Mitani, Maiko Okajima, Tomomi Ohashira, Mohammad Asif Ali, Toshiaki Taniike and Tatsuo Kaneko
Gels 2024, 10(5), 321; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels10050321 - 7 May 2024
Viewed by 796
Abstract
Sacran is a supergiant cyanobacterial polysaccharide that forms mesogenic supercoil rods that exhibit liquid crystalline (LC) gels at deficient concentrations of around 0.5 wt%, and has several bioactive stimuli-responsive functions. Here, we attempted to form oriented microfibers of sacran by electrospinning, following structural [...] Read more.
Sacran is a supergiant cyanobacterial polysaccharide that forms mesogenic supercoil rods that exhibit liquid crystalline (LC) gels at deficient concentrations of around 0.5 wt%, and has several bioactive stimuli-responsive functions. Here, we attempted to form oriented microfibers of sacran by electrospinning, following structural analyses of the sacran rods. A heterogeneous acid-hydrolysis method using a protonated cation-exchange resin was adopted to examine the short-time exposition of concentrated acid to sacran rods. From the supernatant, the oligomeric fraction that was soluble in water and methanol was isolated. The oligomeric fraction had a main sugar ratio of α-Glc:β-Glc:α-Xyl:β-Xyl:α-Rha of 2:5:1.5:1.5:4 (Glc:Xyl:Rha = 7 (=4 + 3):3:4), and it was speculated that the sacran structure includes rhamnoglucan and xyloglucan (4:3), which are generally rigid enough to exhibit LC. To make oriented microfibers of LC sacran, solubility testing was performed on sacran to find good new solvents of polyhydroxy alcohols such as ethylene glycol, 1,2-propanediol, and glycerol. The oriented film was prepared from a sacran aqueous solution where calcium compound particles deposited on the film are different from polyhydroxy alcohol solutions. Although sacran could not form microfibers by itself, polymer composite microfibers of sacran with poly(vinyl alcohol) were prepared by electrospinning. Cross-polarizing microscopy revealed the molecular orientation of the microfibers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Stimuli-Responsive Composite Gels)
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Review

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31 pages, 8636 KiB  
Review
Stimulus-Responsive Hydrogels for Targeted Cancer Therapy
by Raghu Solanki and Dhiraj Bhatia
Gels 2024, 10(7), 440; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels10070440 - 1 Jul 2024
Viewed by 768
Abstract
Cancer is a highly heterogeneous disease and remains a global health challenge affecting millions of human lives worldwide. Despite advancements in conventional treatments like surgery, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy, the rise of multidrug resistance, tumor recurrence, and their severe side effects and the complex [...] Read more.
Cancer is a highly heterogeneous disease and remains a global health challenge affecting millions of human lives worldwide. Despite advancements in conventional treatments like surgery, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy, the rise of multidrug resistance, tumor recurrence, and their severe side effects and the complex nature of the tumor microenvironment (TME) necessitates innovative therapeutic approaches. Recently, stimulus-responsive nanomedicines designed to target TME characteristics (e.g., pH alterations, redox conditions, enzyme secretion) have gained attention for their potential to enhance anticancer efficacy while minimizing the adverse effects of chemotherapeutics/bioactive compounds. Among the various nanocarriers, hydrogels are intriguing due to their high-water content, adjustable mechanical characteristics, and responsiveness to external and internal stimuli, making them promising candidates for cancer therapy. These properties make hydrogels an ideal nanocarrier for controlled drug release within the TME. This review comprehensively surveys the latest advancements in the area of stimulus-responsive hydrogels for cancer therapy, exploring various stimuli-responsive mechanisms, including biological (e.g., pH, redox), chemical (e.g., enzymes, glucose), and physical (e.g., temperature, light), as well as dual- or multi-stimuli responsiveness. Furthermore, this review addresses the current developments and challenges in hydrogels in cancer treatment. Our aim is to provide readers with a comprehensive understanding of stimulus-responsive hydrogels for cancer treatment, offering novel perspectives on their development for cancer therapy and other medical applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Stimuli-Responsive Composite Gels)
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