Advanced Soft Gels with Enhanced Functionality for Biomedical and Additive Manufacturing Applications

Dear Colleagues,

Soft gels, also known as hydrogels, microgels, and nanogels, are on the rise in the biomedical field. Their ability to be prepared under bio-friendly conditions and their promising properties are sparking enthusiasm. Soft gels, with their three-dimensional network and high water content, are not prone to disintegration or dissolution in excess water. They can be combined with cells to create two or three-dimensional scaffolds, eliminating the need for complicated fabrication processes or surgical procedures. Moreover, soft gels offer tunable mechanical properties, biodegradability, and biocompatibility, making them a beacon of hope for biomedical applications such as drug delivery, biosensors, 3D cell culture, tissue engineering, 3D bioprinting, and wound healing.

Despite the numerous advantages of soft gels, they still face significant challenges, particularly in terms of poor stability and mechanical properties. This underscores the urgent need for further research and development of new and advanced soft gels with significantly improved functionality and practical application, a need that is crucial for the medical field.

This Special Issue, a platform to showcase the latest advancements in soft gel technology, holds the potential to influence the field significantly. It encompasses natural, synthetic, and derivative gels applicable to advanced manufacturing techniques, drug delivery, and tissue engineering. We eagerly await submissions that delve into essential aspects of hydrogels, such as gel synthesis and development, physiochemical characterisation, biocompatibility, and practical application research.

Dr. Ing Kong
Dr. Akesh Babu Kakarla
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 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.

• synthesis
• characterisation
• physiochemical properties
• biodegradation
• synthetic and natural polymers
• biopolymers
• physical and chemical crosslinking
• composite gels
• self-healing gels
• cell culture
• drug delivery
• 3D printing and bioprinting
• tissue engineering
• hydrogels
• microgels
• nanogels