Advances in Synthesis, Testing, and Applications of Natural and Synthetic Polymer Hydrogels
A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Networks".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 January 2025 | Viewed by 487
Special Issue Editors
Interests: polymer simulations; molecular modeling; material design; biopolymers; packaging material
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: polymer characterization; structure–properties relationships; antimicrobial polymers; polyurethanes; drug delivery systems; functionalization of polymers; microbial biofilms; nanocomposites
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Hydrogels are crosslinked, three-dimensional networks of highly hydrophilic polymers capable of absorbing significant amounts of water or biological fluids. Natural-polymer-based hydrogels contain starch, chitosan, cellulose, alginate, guar gum, and hyaluronic acid, and they are extensively used in biomedical applications such as tissue regeneration and drug delivery. Synthetic polymer hydrogels (such as polyacrylamide and polyethylene glycol) are made using different routes such as bulk polymerization, the free radical mechanism, the radiation method, and solution mixing and casting, leading to enhanced mechanical properties, swelling, stimuli sensitivity, and compatibility in biomedical as well as other engineering applications. Extensive research is being carried out on functionalized hydrogels and their state-of-the-art synthesis methods that have extensive applications in regenerative medicine, separation processes, enhanced oil recovery, and water and wastewater treatment processes.
This Special Issue on “Advances in Synthesis, Testing, and Applications of Natural and Synthetic Polymer Hydrogels” gives the scientific community a chance to present their research findings or provide an update on the discovery of novel polymer hydrogels, their manufacturing methods, and analytical methods for their characterization and applications.
Research articles, as well as reviews, are welcome.
Dr. Chandra Mouli R. Madhuranthakam
Dr. Iolanda Francolini
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. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2700 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
- natural hydrogels
- synthetic hydrogels
- swelling ability
- biomaterials
- regenerative medical applications
- enhanced oil recovery
- membrane separation
