Cellulose- and Nanocellulose-Based Gels: Design and Applications

Dear Colleagues,

Cellulose and nanocellulose, derived from renewable plant sources and natural fibers, have attracted great scientific and industrial interest as versatile and sustainable biomaterials. Cellulose- and nanocellulose-based hydrogels, characterized by a three-dimensional hydrophilic polymer network, are renowned for their nontoxic, biocompatible, and biodegradable nature. These (nano)hydrogels exhibit unique properties, including swelling, softness, and responsiveness to external stimuli, enabling a wide range of applications in multidisciplinary areas including biomedical fields (drug delivery, tissue engineering, and wound healing), healthcare and hygienic products, agriculture (water resources and fertilizer supply), textiles and industrial applications as smart materials (sensors, energy storage devices, energy generators, and actuators), among other applications.

With this Special Issue, we would like to catch the attention of food/material scientists, engineers, and technologists, and invite them to contribute via original research papers, review articles, and short communications, which have the potential to make a substantial impact in the realm of cellulose-based gels. The aims may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Cellulose and nanocellulose innovative isolation processes;
• Innovative design/development/validation strategies and crosslinking techniques to develop new and sustainable cellulose- and nanocellulose-based gels;
• Mechanisms governing gelation and 3D network formation of hydrophilic polymer networks;
• Structural, mechanical, and thermal characterization of gel biomaterials;
• Multidisciplinary applications in diverse fields such as drug delivery, tissue engineering, food technology, cosmetics, and environmental remediation;
• Economical/life-cycle assessment analyses to evaluate the sustainability and environmental impact of (nano)cellulose-based gels.

Dr. Annachiara Pirozzi
Dr. Luis Serrano
Prof. Dr. Francesco Donsì
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 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.