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Gels
Special Issues
Global Excellence in Bioactive Gels
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Global Excellence in Bioactive Gels

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2024 | Viewed by 3935

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Yoshitaka Miyamoto

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Maternal-Fetal Biology, National Research Institute for Child Health and Development, Tokyo 157-8535, Japan
Interests: gels; medical technology; cells; tissues; organs; devices
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Bioactive gels are used globally in medicine, drug discovery, cosmetics, food products, and the environment, etc. Gels have a complex three-dimensional network structure and exhibit various physical properties. For example, hydrogels are natural or synthetic polymers that swell with water. These can change their volume discontinuously and reversibly in response to external conditions such as temperature, solvent, composition, light, and electric field. Extracellular matrix hydrogels (fibrous proteins such as collagen and polysaccharides such as hyaluronic acid), synthetic polymer hydrogels, and rigid polymer materials have been used as scaffold materials, chromatography, membranes, drug delivery systems (DDS), transplantation, regenerative therapy, biosensors, and biological fuel cells, etc.

Here, we call for reports on ‘Global Excellence in Bioactive Gels’ in various fields of gels. Examples of topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

  • Synthesis, properties, and functionalization of bioactive gels.
  • Development and applied research of bioactive gels (medicine, cosmetics, food products, and the environment, etc.).

Therefore, this Special Issue seeks to publish high-quality articles, including original research and reviews.

Dr. Yoshitaka Miyamoto
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

  • bioactive gels
  • natural polymers
  • synthetic polymers
  • gel properties
  • sol–gel method
  • gel membrane
  • tissue engineering
  • drug delivery system (DDS)
  • biosensor
  • regenerative therapy

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

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 2634 KiB  
Article
Enhancement of Mechanical Properties of Benign Polyvinyl Alcohol/Agar Hydrogel by Crosslinking Tannic Acid and Applying Multiple Freeze/Thaw Cycles
by Moustapha Mohamed Mahamoud, Tadesse Mekonnin Ketema, Yutaka Kuwahara and Makoto Takafuji
Gels 2024, 10(8), 527; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels10080527 - 12 Aug 2024
Viewed by 377
Abstract
Hydrogels composed of natural and synthetic polymers have considerable potential for use in diverse areas such as biomedical applications and water purification. This is primarily because of their biocompatibility, biodegradability, and low toxicity. The widespread usage of composite hydrogels is hindered by a [...] Read more.
Hydrogels composed of natural and synthetic polymers have considerable potential for use in diverse areas such as biomedical applications and water purification. This is primarily because of their biocompatibility, biodegradability, and low toxicity. The widespread usage of composite hydrogels is hindered by a lack of simultaneous properties, such as high strength and low swelling rate. Herein, we report the preparation of novel hydrogels composed of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)–intercalated agar polymer networks physically crosslinked with tannic acid. The hydrogel was subjected to multiple freeze/thaw (F/T) cycles (1, 3, and 5), and it was found to exhibit the highest strength after 5 F/T cycles. After 1 F/T cycle, the tensile strength of the composite hydrogel reached 1.56 MPa with a 1.0 wt% crosslinker, whereas after 5 F/T cycles, it increased to 3.77 MPa with a reduced amount (0.75 wt%) of the crosslinker. In addition, the swelling ability decreased upon increasing the crosslinker content and number of F/T cycles. Furthermore, the hydrogel demonstrated excellent water retention and a strong ability to adhere to different substrates. We have successfully implemented an innovative approach to improve the mechanical properties of PVA-based hydrogels by combining the use of tannic acid as a cross-linking agent and multiple F/T cycles. The developed hydrogels are expected to facilitate new developments in hydrogel technology, thus impacting diverse fields such as biomedical (wound dressing and artificial cartilage). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Excellence in Bioactive Gels)
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13 pages, 4447 KiB  
Article
Effect of Hydrogel Stiffness on Chemoresistance of Breast Cancer Cells in 3D Culture
by Tianjiao Zeng, Huajian Chen, Toru Yoshitomi, Naoki Kawazoe, Yingnan Yang and Guoping Chen
Gels 2024, 10(3), 202; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels10030202 - 17 Mar 2024
Viewed by 1535
Abstract
Chemotherapy is one of the most common strategies for cancer treatment, whereas drug resistance reduces the efficiency of chemotherapy and leads to treatment failure. The mechanism of emerging chemoresistance is complex and the effect of extracellular matrix (ECM) surrounding cells may contribute to [...] Read more.
Chemotherapy is one of the most common strategies for cancer treatment, whereas drug resistance reduces the efficiency of chemotherapy and leads to treatment failure. The mechanism of emerging chemoresistance is complex and the effect of extracellular matrix (ECM) surrounding cells may contribute to drug resistance. Although it is well known that ECM plays an important role in orchestrating cell functions, it remains exclusive how ECM stiffness affects drug resistance. In this study, we prepared agarose hydrogels of different stiffnesses to investigate the effect of hydrogel stiffness on the chemoresistance of breast cancer cells to doxorubicin (DOX). Agarose hydrogels with a stiffness range of 1.5 kPa to 112.3 kPa were prepared and used to encapsulate breast cancer cells for a three-dimensional culture with different concentrations of DOX. The viability of the cells cultured in the hydrogels was dependent on both DOX concentration and hydrogel stiffness. Cell viability decreased with DOX concentration when the cells were cultured in the same stiffness hydrogels. When DOX concentration was the same, breast cancer cells showed higher viability in high-stiffness hydrogels than they did in low-stiffness hydrogels. Furthermore, the expression of P-glycoprotein mRNA in high-stiffness hydrogels was higher than that in low-stiffness hydrogels. The results suggested that hydrogel stiffness could affect the resistance of breast cancer cells to DOX by regulating the expression of chemoresistance-related genes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Excellence in Bioactive Gels)
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14 pages, 2656 KiB  
Article
Fabrication Technology of Self-Dissolving Sodium Hyaluronate Gels Ultrafine Microneedles for Medical Applications with UV-Curing Gas-Permeable Mold
by Rio Yamagishi, Sayaka Miura, Kana Yabu, Mano Ando, Yuna Hachikubo, Yoshiyuki Yokoyama, Kaori Yasuda and Satoshi Takei
Gels 2024, 10(1), 65; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels10010065 - 15 Jan 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1471
Abstract
Microneedles are of great interest in diverse fields, including cosmetics, drug delivery systems, chromatography, and biological sensing for disease diagnosis. Self-dissolving ultrafine microneedles of pure sodium hyaluronate hydrogels were fabricated using a UV-curing TiO2-SiO2 gas-permeable mold polymerized by sol-gel hydrolysis [...] Read more.
Microneedles are of great interest in diverse fields, including cosmetics, drug delivery systems, chromatography, and biological sensing for disease diagnosis. Self-dissolving ultrafine microneedles of pure sodium hyaluronate hydrogels were fabricated using a UV-curing TiO2-SiO2 gas-permeable mold polymerized by sol-gel hydrolysis reactions in nanoimprint lithography processes under refrigeration at 5 °C, where thermal decomposition of microneedle components can be avoided. The moldability, strength, and dissolution behavior of sodium hyaluronate hydrogels with different molecular weights were compared to evaluate the suitability of ultrafine microneedles with a bottom diameter of 40 μm and a height of 80 μm. The appropriate molecular weight range and formulation of pure sodium hyaluronate hydrogels were found to control the dissolution behavior of self-dissolving ultrafine microneedles while maintaining the moldability and strength of the microneedles. This fabrication technology of ultrafine microneedles expands their possibilities as a next-generation technique for bioactive gels for controlling the blood levels of drugs and avoiding pain during administration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Excellence in Bioactive Gels)
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