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Gels
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Recent Research Trends in New Generation Polymer Gels
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Recent Research Trends in New Generation Polymer Gels

A special issue of Gels (ISSN 2310-2861).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 December 2021) | Viewed by 24030

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jun Araki

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Guest Editor
Faculty of Textile Science and Technology, Shinshu University, Tokida 3-15-1, Ueda City, Nagano 386-8567, Japan
Interests: polyrotaxane; cyclodextrin; supramolecular; cellulose; chitin/chitosan; soft matter
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Kohzo Ito

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Guest Editor
Department of Advanced Materials Science, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Interests: polymer
Prof. Yukikazu Takeoka

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Dept. of Molecular Design & Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
Interests: “smart” soft materials

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Research investigations of polymer gels have been always cutting-edge topics in the field of polymeric materials science. While a fundamental understanding of the physicochemical characteristics of polymer gels, as well as the synthetic pathways of various classical polymer gels, seems to be firmly established, methods to improve polymer gel’s properties are still vigorously examined by numerous researchers. The behavior of natural polymer gels, which are often encountered in the course of biological macromolecules, is more complicated and also of great interest. Investigations on new-type polymer gels with novel inner structures (i.e., polyrotaxane slide-ring gels, tetra-PEG gels, nanocomposite gels, double network gels, etc.) have also presented many fascinating outcomes, within the last two decades. The Guest Editors are proud to introduce this Special Issue summarizing current research investigations on polymer gel studies, particularly those that include supramolecular-structured polymer gels.

Dr. Jun Araki
Prof. Kohzo Ito
Prof. Yukikazu Takeoka
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.

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 4418 KiB  
Article
Design and Development of Neomycin Sulfate Gel Loaded with Solid Lipid Nanoparticles for Buccal Mucosal Wound Healing
by Khaled M. Hosny, N. Raghavendra Naveen, Mallesh Kurakula, Amal M. Sindi, Fahad Y. Sabei, Adel Al Fatease, Abdulmajeed M. Jali, Waleed S. Alharbi, Rayan Y. Mushtaq, Majed Felemban, Hossam H. Tayeb, Eman Alfayez and Waleed Y. Rizg
Gels 2022, 8(6), 385; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels8060385 - 16 Jun 2022
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 3428
Abstract
Drug administration to the wound site is a potential method for wound healing. The drug retention duration should be extended, and drug permeability through the buccal mucosal layer should be regulated. Oral wounds can be caused by inflammation, ulcers, trauma, or pathological lesions; [...] Read more.
Drug administration to the wound site is a potential method for wound healing. The drug retention duration should be extended, and drug permeability through the buccal mucosal layer should be regulated. Oral wounds can be caused by inflammation, ulcers, trauma, or pathological lesions; if these wounds are not treated properly, they can lead to pain, infection, and subsequent undesirable scarring. This study aimed to develop Kolliphor-407 P-based gel containing neomycin sulfate (NES) loaded in solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) and enhance the antimicrobial activity. By considering lipid concentrations and achieving the lowest particle size (Y1) and maximum entrapment (EE-Y2) effectiveness, the formulation of NES-SLN was optimized using the Box–Behnken design. For the selected responses, 17 runs were formulated (as anticipated by the Design-Expert software) and evaluated accordingly. The optimized formulation could achieve a particle size of 196.25 and EE of 89.27% and was further utilized to prepare the gel formulation. The NES-SLN-G formula was discovered to have a smooth, homogeneous structure and good mechanical and rheological properties. After 24 h of treatment, NES-SLN-G showed a regulated in vitro drug release pattern, excellent ex vivo permeability, and increased in vitro antibacterial activity. These findings indicate the potential application of NES-SLN-loaded gels as a promising formulation for buccal mucosal wound healing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Research Trends in New Generation Polymer Gels)
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18 pages, 3827 KiB  
Article
The Study of Amidoxime-Functionalized Cellulose Separate Th(IV) from Aqueous Solution
by Yiling Zhi, Guojian Duan, Zhiwei Lei, Hui Chen, Haobo Zhang, Huining Tian and Tonghuan Liu
Gels 2022, 8(6), 378; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels8060378 - 15 Jun 2022
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2337
Abstract
Selective extraction of low-concentration thorium (Th(IV)) from wastewater is a very important research topic. In this paper, amidoxime cellulose was synthesized, and its composition and structure were characterized by FT-IR, SEM, XPS, and elemental analysis. The adsorption experiment results showed that the adsorption [...] Read more.
Selective extraction of low-concentration thorium (Th(IV)) from wastewater is a very important research topic. In this paper, amidoxime cellulose was synthesized, and its composition and structure were characterized by FT-IR, SEM, XPS, and elemental analysis. The adsorption experiment results showed that the adsorption reaction was a spontaneous exothermic process. When the solid–liquid ratio was 0.12 g/L and the pH value was 3.5, the adsorption percentage of the Th(IV) in water onto amidoxime-functionalized cellulose (AO-CELL) could reach over 80%. The maximum adsorption capacity can reach to 450 mg/g. At the same time, the adsorption selectivity, desorption process and reusability of the material were also studied. The results showed that the AO-CELL had a good selectivity for Th(IV) in the system with Sr2+, Cu2+, Mg2+, Zn2+, Pb2+, Ni2+, and Co2+ as co-ions. In the nitric acid concentration of 0.06 mol/L system, the AO-CELL desorption rate of Th(IV) can reach 95%, and the adsorption rate of Th(IV) in aqueous solution of AO-CELL is still above 60% when the AO-CELL is reused four times. The above results show that the amidoxime cellulose adsorption material synthesized by our research group has good selective adsorption performance for Th(IV) of a low concentration in an aqueous solution and has a good practical application value. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Research Trends in New Generation Polymer Gels)
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15 pages, 4188 KiB  
Article
Application of 3D Gel Dosimetry as a Quality Assurance Tool in Functional Leksell Gamma Knife Radiosurgery
by Linas Kudrevicius, Evelina Jaselske, Diana Adliene, Viktoras Rudzianskas, Andrius Radziunas and Arimantas Tamasauskas
Gels 2022, 8(2), 69; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels8020069 - 20 Jan 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3066
Abstract
Highly precise dose delivery to the target (tumor or cancerous tissue) is a key point when brain diseases are treated applying recent stereotactic techniques: intensity-modulated, image-guided radiotherapy, volumetric modulated arc therapy, Gamma knife radiosurgery. The doses in one single shot may vary between [...] Read more.
Highly precise dose delivery to the target (tumor or cancerous tissue) is a key point when brain diseases are treated applying recent stereotactic techniques: intensity-modulated, image-guided radiotherapy, volumetric modulated arc therapy, Gamma knife radiosurgery. The doses in one single shot may vary between tens and hundreds of Gy and cause significant cell/tissue/organ damages. This indicates the need for implementation of quality assurance (QA) measures which are realized performing treatment dose verification with more than one calibrated quality assurance method or tool, especially when functional radiosurgery with a high dose (up to 40 Gy in our case) shall be delivered to the target using small 4 mm collimator. Application of two dosimetry methods: radiochromic film dosimetry using RTQA2 and EBT3 films and dose gel dosimetry using modified nPAG polymer gels for quality assurance purposes in stereotactic radiosurgery treatments using Leksell Gamma Knife© Icon™ facility is discussed in this paper. It is shown that due to their polymerization ability upon irradiation nPAG gels might be potentially used as a quality assurance tool in Gamma knife radiosurgery: they indicate well pronounced linear dose response in hypo-fractionated (up to 10 Gy) dose range and are sensitive enough to irradiation dose changes with a high (at least 0.2 mm) spatial resolution. Dose assessment sensitivity of gels depends on parameters of a dose evaluation method (optical or magnetic resonance imaging), however, is similar to this estimated using film dosimetry, which is set as a standard dosimetry method for dose verification in radiotherapy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Research Trends in New Generation Polymer Gels)
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12 pages, 12709 KiB  
Article
Thermosensitive Polyester Hydrogel for Application of Immunosuppressive Drug Delivery System in Skin Allograft
by I-En Wu, Madonna Rica Anggelia, Sih-Yu Lin, Chiao-Yun Chen, I-Ming Chu and Cheng-Hung Lin
Gels 2021, 7(4), 229; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels7040229 - 23 Nov 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2831
Abstract
Tacrolimus (FK506) is a common immunosuppressive drug that is capable of suppressing acute rejection reactions, and is used to treat patients after allotransplantation. A stable and suitable serum concentration of tacrolimus is desirable for better therapeutic effects. However, daily drug administration via oral [...] Read more.
Tacrolimus (FK506) is a common immunosuppressive drug that is capable of suppressing acute rejection reactions, and is used to treat patients after allotransplantation. A stable and suitable serum concentration of tacrolimus is desirable for better therapeutic effects. However, daily drug administration via oral or injection routes is quite inconvenient and may encounter drug overdose or low patient compliance problems. In this research, our objective was to develop an extended delivery system using a thermosensitive hydrogel of poly ethylene glycol, D,L-lactide (L), and ϵ-caprolactone (CL) block copolymer, mPEG-PLCL, as a drug depot. The formulation of mPEG-PLCL and 0.5% PVP-dissolved tacrolimus was studied and the optimal formulation was obtained. The in vivo data showed that in situ gelling is achieved, a stable and sustained release of the drug within 30 days can be maintained, and the hydrogel was majorly degraded in that period. Moreover, improved allograft survival was achieved. Together, these data imply the potential of the current formulation for immunosuppressive treatments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Research Trends in New Generation Polymer Gels)
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12 pages, 3921 KiB  
Article
Gelatinization, Retrogradation and Gel Properties of Wheat Starch–Wheat Bran Arabinoxylan Complexes
by Wenjia Yan, Lijun Yin, Minghao Zhang, Meng Zhang and Xin Jia
Gels 2021, 7(4), 200; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels7040200 - 5 Nov 2021
Cited by 30 | Viewed by 6513
Abstract
Gelatinization, retrogradation and gel properties of wheat starch–wheat bran arabinoxylan (WS–WBAX) complexes have been evaluated. The results of rapid viscosity analyzer (RVA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) confirmed that WBAX samples with larger Mw and branching degree (HWBAX) [...] Read more.
Gelatinization, retrogradation and gel properties of wheat starch–wheat bran arabinoxylan (WS–WBAX) complexes have been evaluated. The results of rapid viscosity analyzer (RVA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) confirmed that WBAX samples with larger Mw and branching degree (HWBAX) significantly impeded gelatinization process of starch by effectively reducing the amount of water available for starch gelatinization. DSC analysis showed that both molecular characteristics and additive amount of WBAX samples have an effect on the long-term retrogradation behavior of starch. For the rheological studies of WS–WBAX mixed gels, the elastic moduli (G’) and shear viscosity of WS–WBAX mixed gels increased with the increase in additive amount of WBAX. WS–HWBAX mixed gels exhibited the lower G’ compared with starch gels containing WBAX with lower Mw and branching degree (LWBAX) at the same amount. The scanning electron micrographs (SEM) revealed that the microstructures of WS–WBAX mixed gels were mainly affected by the amount of WBAX, but hardly by the molecular characteristics of WBAX. Texture profile analysis (TPA) showed that the cohesiveness of fresh WS–WBAX mixed gels became larger with an increase in the WBAX addition amount. The hardness of WS–WBAX mixed gels tended to increase over the 14-day storage. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Research Trends in New Generation Polymer Gels)
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Review

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23 pages, 6023 KiB  
Review
Gel Chromatography for Separation of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes
by Sunwoo Kim and Woo-Jae Kim
Gels 2022, 8(2), 76; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels8020076 - 24 Jan 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 4590
Abstract
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs), having either metallic or semiconducting properties depending on their chirality, are advanced materials that can be used for different devices and materials (e.g., fuel cells, transistors, solar cells, reinforced materials, and medical materials) due to their excellent electrical conductivity, mechanical [...] Read more.
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs), having either metallic or semiconducting properties depending on their chirality, are advanced materials that can be used for different devices and materials (e.g., fuel cells, transistors, solar cells, reinforced materials, and medical materials) due to their excellent electrical conductivity, mechanical strength, and thermal conductivity. Single-walled CNTs (SWNTs) have received special attention due to their outstanding electrical and optical properties; however, the inability to selectively synthesize specific types of CNTs has been a major obstacle for their commercialization. Therefore, researchers have studied different methods for the separation of SWNTs based on their electrical and optical properties. Gel chromatography methods enable the large-scale separation of metallic/semiconducting (m/s) SWNTs and single-chirality SWNTs with specific bandgaps. The core principle of gel chromatography-based SWNT separation is the interaction between the SWNTs and gels, which depends on the unique electrical properties of the former. Controlled pore glass, silica gel, agarose-based gel, and allyl dextran-based gel have been exploited as mediums for gel chromatography. In this paper, the interaction between SWNTs and gels and the different gel chromatography-based SWNT separation technologies are introduced. This paper can serve as a reference for researchers who plan to separate SWNTs with gel chromatography. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Research Trends in New Generation Polymer Gels)
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