Recent Advances in Hydrogel-Forming Microneedles

Dear Colleagues,

We are delighted to announce this Special Issue on “Recent Advances in Hydrogel-Forming Microneedles”. Microneedle technology has gained tremendous attention in recent years. Containing a number of needles that are microscale in dimension, microneedles could efficiently deliver drugs in a painless and minimally invasive way. Compared to the microneedles fabricated via other materials, hydrogel-forming microneedles present a variety of advantages. Consisting of crosslinked polymers, the hydrogel-forming microneedles displayed enhanced mechanical strength, improved drug loading capacity, and tunable drug release profile. Furthermore, a needle composed of hydrogels will swell after microneedle insertion, facilitating the extraction of interstitial fluid containing biomarkers. Therefore, hydrogel-forming microneedles are not only promising for drug delivery but also show potential for minimally invasive biosensing.

This Special Issue provides an excellent platform with which to share up-to-date research progress in the design and fabrication of hydrogel-forming microneedles, as well as their application in drug delivery systems and non-invasive monitoring devices. Research papers or reviews that showcase the latest advancements and breakthroughs in this field are welcomed. We look forward to receiving your contributions, and we believe that this Special Issue will promote the development of microneedles fabricated by gel materials.

Dr. Siyuan Chen
Prof. Dr. Akira Matsumoto
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 2600 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.

• microneedles
• gels
• controlled release
• drug delivery
• biosensing