Gels Horizons: From Science to Smart Materials

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue aims to provide a comprehensive collection of works on the recent advances and developments in the domain of gels, particularly as applied to the various research fields of sciences and engineering disciplines. It covers a broad range of topics related to gels ranging from polymer gels, protein gels, self-healing gels, colloidal gels, composites/nanocomposites gels, organogels, aerogels, metallogels and hydrogels to micro/nano gels. 

This Special Issue of Gels will attempt to publish high-quality research papers covering the most recent advances as well as comprehensive reviews addressing novel and state-of-the-art topics from active researchers in the field of gels addressing a range of synthesis and characterization techniques that are critical for tailoring and broadening the various aspects of polymer gels, as well as the numerous advantages that polymer-gel-based materials offer. It will present a comprehensive collection of articles on the recent advances and developments in the science and fundamentals of both synthetic and natural polymer-based gels. Specific topics covered include but are not limited to: synthesis and structure of physically/chemically cross-linked polymer gels/polymeric nanogels; gel formation through non-covalent cross-linking; molecular design and characterization; polysaccharide-based polymer gels: synthesis, characterization, and properties; modified polysaccharide gels: silica-based polymeric gels as platforms for the delivery of pharmaceuticals; gel-based approaches in genomic and proteomic sciences; emulgels in drug delivery; and organogels. This Special Issue provides a cutting-edge resource for researchers and scientists working in various fields involving polymers, biomaterials, bio-nanotechnology and functional materials.

Dr. Vijay Kumar Thakur
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-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.